
THE 



HOLY FAMILY, 



PICTORIAL 

LIVES OF THE SAINTS 

WITH REFLECTIONS 

FOR EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR 

Compiled from "Butler's Lives" and other Approved Sources 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED LIVES OF CERTAIN SAINTS CONTAINED IN 
THE CALENDAR OF SPECIAL FEASTS FOR THE UNITED STATES 
AND OF SOME OTHERS RECENTLY CANONIZED 




BENZIGER BROTHER^ 



New York, Cincinnati, Chicago 

BENZIGER BROTHERS 



PRINTERS TO THE I PUBLISHERS OF 

HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE ( BENZIGER'S MAGAZINE 




Archbishop of New York. 

New York, June 3, 1878. 




Archbishop of New York. 

January 21, 1887. 



Copyright. 1878. 1887. 1002. 1922. by Benzigeh Brothers 

MAR -5 "24 

©CH778410 ^ >U 



Approbation of His Holiness Pope Leo XIII. 



His Holiness was more than usually pleased with your 
"PICTORIAL LIVES OF THE SAINTS." He greatly 
admired both binding and illustrations, and requested me to 
express to you his satisfaction. He sends you a special bless- 
ing, hoping that you will ever continue in your good under- 
taking, and that your work may be crowned with deserving 
success. Begging leave to join my own humble yet sincere 
congratulations, I have the honor to be, with great respect, 

Yours truly in Christ, 

L. E. HOSTLOT, 
Rector American College ', Rome. 



4 



The Movable Feasts. 



Movable feasts are so called because they have no 
fixed place in the calendar: their celebration happening 
sooner or later, year by year, according as the feast of Easter 
itself occurs at a different period. The latter feast is always 
celebrated on the Sunday which accompanies or follows the 
first full moon after the spring equinox. As the movable 
feasts afford useful lessons, we ought to take them fully to 
heart. 

ADVENT. 

The time of Advent cannot exactly be considered festal, 
nor can it be classed among the movable feasts ; and yet the 
first day of Advent is, in another sense, movable, inasmuch as 
it happens always on the fourth Sunday before Christmas — 
which festival itself falls on different days of the week. Ad- 
vent means cowing, and the four weeks whereof it consists 
represent the four thousand years which preceded the coming 
of the Son of God into this world. Formerly, Advent-time 
was observed by fasting, abstinence, and mortification, but 
not in a manner so rigorous as that of Lent. Notwithstand- 
ing the alleviations which the Church has thought well to 
introduce in the course of time, Advent has till remained a 
period of recollection and prayer. The true Christian ought 
to take advantage thereof, and by pious yearnings entreat 
for the coming of the Son of God into his heart by grace, and 
into the world at large by the spreading of the Gospel. 

Reflection. — " All the days in which I am now in war- 
fare I await until my change come. Thou shalt call me, and 
I will answer Thee." 

5 



6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 




QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY— THE FORTY HOURS' DEVOTION. 



Quinquagesima Sunday is the third day preceding Ash 
Wednesday. That holy season is approaching when the 
Church denies herself her songs of joy in order the more 
forcibly to remind us, her children, that we are living in a 
Babylon of spiritual danger, and to excite us to regain that 
genuine Christian spirit which every thing in the world 
around us is striving to undermine. If we are obliged to 
take part in the amusements of the few days before Lent, let 
it be with a heart deeply imbued with the maxims of the 
Gospel. But, as a substitute for frivolous amusements and 
dangerous pleasures, the Church offers a feast surpassing all 
earthly enjoyments, and a means whereby we can make some 
amends to God for the insults offered to His divine majesty. 
The Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world is exposed 
upon our altars. On this His throne of mercy He receives 
the homage of those who come to adore Him and acknowl- 
edge Him for their King ; He accepts the repentance of those 
who come to tell Him how grieved they are at having fol- 
lowed any other Master ; and He offers Himself again to His 
Eternal Father as a propitiation for those sinners who yet 
treat His favors with indifference. It was the pious Cardinal 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



7 



Gabriel Paleotti, Archbishop of Bologna, who, in the six- 
teenth century, first originated the admirable devotion of the 
Forty Hours. His object in this solemn exposition of the Most 
Blessed Sacrament was to offer to the Divine Majesty some 
compensation for the sins of man, and, at the very time when 
the world was busiest in deserving His anger, to appease it 
by the sight of His own Son, the Mediator between heaven 
and earth. Pope Benedict XIV. granted many indulgences 
to all the faithful of the Papal States who, during these days, 
should visit Our Lord in this mystery of His love, and should 
pray for the pardon of sinners. This favor, at first so re- 
stricted, afterward was extended by Pope Clement XIII. to 
the Universal Church. Thus the Forty Hours' Devotion has 
spread throughout the whole world and become one of the 
most solemn expressions of Catholic piety. 

Reflection. — Let us then go apart, for at least one 
short hour, from the dissipation of earthly enjoyments, and, 
kneeling in the presence of our Jesus, merit the grace to 
keep our hearts innocent and detached. 

ASH WEDNESDAY. 

Man, drawn from the dust, must return to it, and all that 
he does meanwhile, with the exception of what good he may 
achieve, is but dust and vanity; the good alone survives. 
Such are the truths which the Church wishes to engrave in 
the memory, but still more in the hearts of her children, by 
the sprinkling of ashes on this first day of Lent. This cus- 
tom dates from the first centuries of the Church, and w T as 
then observed, not toward all the faithful without distinction, 
but toward public sinners who had submitted themselves to 
canonical penance, to obtain thereby reconciliation with the 
Church and admission to a share in the Divine Eucharist. 
The bishop imposed on them the obligation of wearing the 
hair-shirt and penitent garb, placing ashes on their head, and 
then excluding them from the church until the day of Easter. 
Meanwhile, they had to remain humbly prostrate at the 
church-porch, imploring the prayers of those who, more 
happy than they, might assist at the divine mysteries within 



8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



the sacred building. The custom of putting ashes on the 
head in token of penitence is even more ancient than Chris- 
tianity; the Jews practised it, and the holy King David tells 
us that he had submitted to the observance. It may be said 
rather to date from the first ages of the world ; for the holy 
man Job, long before even the time of Moses, followed the 
custom. Nothing is, in fact, more calculated to lead the 
sinner to enter into himself than the remembrance of his last 




end. Nothing is better fitted to beat down pride and put a 
check on futile projects and guilty purposes than the terrible 
and sad memento, "Remember that thou art but dust!" 
Empires, riches, honors, and dignities, resplendent palaces, 
triumphal cars, fair adornments, beauty, strength, and 
power, all crumble away, and their very possessor is but a 
ruin, and, ere a few days have sped, will have dwindled into 
dust. 

Reflection. — Bear ever in mind, then, men and sinners, 
that " you are dust, and unto dust you shall return/' 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



9 



THE FIVE WOUNDS OF OUR LORD. 

Ye that delight in decking your head with costly and 
superb adornments, who love to cumber your hands with 
gold and precious jewels, who revel in luxury and in soft gar- 
ments, approach and see to what a condition Jesus Christ, 
your Captain and Saviour, is reduced. His head is crowned 




with thorns and streaming with blood, and every base indig- 
nity heaped thereon by ruffian executioners ; His feet and 
hands are pierced by nails, His side gaping with a wide- 
open wound. Such are the mournful accents uttered by the 
Church on the first Friday of Lent, two days after she has 
strewed ashes on the heads of the faithful. " For you it is," 
she exclaims, " that the Son of God, the Word made Flesh, 
has undergone these heart-rending affronts, with intent to 
expiate your evil-doings, and to teach you that the idol of 
your body, which you deck out with so much care and eager 
delight, deserves, on the contrary, naught but affliction and 
suffering. How can you, while wreathing yourselves with 
flowers, venture to tread in the footsteps of a Master who 
bears a thorny crown? And with what mind do you propose 



10 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



becoming the disciples of such a Master? That forehead, 
made lustrous with borrowed splendor, those limbs delicately 
clad and brilliantly adorned, will first become the food of 
the grave-worm, and afterward the prey of that fire that 
quencheth not, if you strive not to bend them down to that 
lowliness which is native to them, to the state of subjection 
for which they were created, and to the penitence they have 
merited by reason of sin." 

Reflection. — May the contemplation of the wounds of 
Our Saviour engrave deeply in our mind the maxim uttered 
by His own divine lips : " If any man will come after Me, let 
him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me." 

THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS 

CHRIST. 



The Church, inspired by the Holy Ghost, has established 
a special feast in honor of the Most Precious Blood of Our 




Lord. This saving Blood was first shed at the circumcision 
of the Divine Infant ; it was next poured out in the bloody 
sweat of agony in the Garden of Olives; again it flowed 
under the cruel blows of the savage soldiery ; then when the 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



1 1 



crown of thorns was pressed into His temples ; and finally, 
when " one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and 
there came out blood and water." St. Augustine, explain- 
ing these words of St. John, points out that the Evangelist 
does not use the words struck or wounded, but says distinctly, 
" one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side," that we 
may understand thereby that the gate of life was opened, 
and from that sacred side issued all those sacraments of the 
Church, without which we can never hope to gain eternal 
life. This Precious Blood was symbolized by the victim of 
the old law; but while these latter sacrifices served only to 
purify the outer man, the blood of Jesus Christ, by virtue of 
its infinite efficacy, washed us free from all sin, provided we 
avail ourselves of the means established by our Divine 
Saviour in His Church for the application of its infinite 
merits. 

Reflection. — Let us haste then to profit by the graces 
offered us. Let us wash away the stains of sin in the Sacra- 
ment of Penance, and nourish ourselves with the Most 
Blessed Body and Blood of the Holy Eucharist. Let us ever 
be attentive at Mass, where this adorable Blood mystically 
pours forth again upon the altar to plead our cause before 
the throne of divine justice. 

THE SEVEN DOLORS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

Eve, when placed by the hand of God in a garden of de- 
lights, received but one precept to be obeyed, so as to be 
forever happy — a precept easy of accomplishment, the non- 
observance whereof should needs be inexcusable, inasmuch 
as neither urgent want nor strong inclination led to its vio- 
lation; there was conjoined, moreover, the assurance of 
death following inevitably upon the transgression of the pre- 
cept. But the serpent, kindling with jealousy and hate, 
came to tempt her. She gazed on the forbidden fruit, 
gathered thereof, and carried it. to her husband, and together 
they ate, incurring the fatal loss, and involving mankind in 
their downfall. Mary, preceded by the God made Man, 
went toiling with Him up the arid steep of Calvary, in order 



12 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



to accomplish the most heart-rending of all sacrifices. Eve 
had rebelled, Mary surrendered her will; Eve had yielded to 
the enticing voice of the Tempter ; Mary heard the voice of 
the same demon of jealousy and hate, uttering by the mouth 
of the impious Jews blasphemies and maledictions, but she 
was not frightened from her purpose. Eve, in her disobedi- 
ence, stretched forth her hand toward the tree of the knowl- 
edge of good and evil; Mary, in her submission to the de- 




signs of God, stretches forth hers to the tree of the Cross. 
Eve had sacrificed to her caprice the spouse through whom 
she had received being; Mary assists at the sacrifice of the 
Son to whom she has given being. Eve was born of man 
without the agency of a mother; Mary gave birth to the 
Man-God without the intervention of a spouse. Eve, after 
her disobedience, became the mother, in the order of nature, 
of a race accursed; Mary, through her submission, has be- 
come, in the order of grace, the mother of a race sanctified. 

These points of resemblance and contrast offer them- 
selves spontaneously to the mind, provided we ponder some- 
what over the remembrance celebrated by the Church on the 
Friday in Holy Week, under the title of the " Seven Dolors 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



13 



of the Blessed Virgin." A mother's heart can alone com- 
prehend the agony of torture endured by this mother at the 
foot of the Cross whereon Her Son was immolated ; we do 
not attempt to describe, nor are any mere human lips, indeed, 
able to express it. 

Reflection. — Let us adore this divine and mysterious 
abyss of charity, in whose depth our salvation was worked 
out at the price of so much suffering ; and let us bear in mind 
what we have cost that mother to whose guardianship we 
were made over, even from the sublime height of the Cross. 

THE MOST HOLY CROWN OF THORNS OF OUR LORD 
JESUS CHRIST. 

The Most Holy Crown of Thorns, consecrated by the 
head and the blood of our Divine Saviour, has always been 




looked upon as one of the most precious of relics. Having 
been carried to Constantinople, it was there carefully kept, 
during the reign of the French Emperors, up to the begin- 
ning of the thirteenth century. At that time the Emperor, 
Baldwin II., was sorely pressed by the Saracens and Greeks, 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



and considering Constantinople as no longer secure, he sent 
the precious relic to his cousin, St. Louis, who accepted it 
with delight. St. Louis, in requital, afterward voluntarily 
paid off a large sum which the emperor had borrowed from 
the Venetians. In 1239, the sacred treasure was carried in 
a sealed case, with great devotion, by holy men, to France. 
St. Louis, accompanied by many prelates and his entire 
court, met it five leagues beyond Sens. The pious king, 
with his brother, Robert of Artois, both barefooted, carried 
it into that city to the cathedral of St. Stephen, accompanied 
by a numerous procession. Two years after, it was taken to 
Paris, where it was received with great solemnity, and placed 
in the Holy Chapel which St. Louis built for its reception. 
Every year, on the nth of August, the transfer of this relic 
from Venice to Paris, is celebrated in the Holy Chapel. 

PALM SUNDAY. 

Lessons without end, at once lofty and hallowing, might 
he deduced from the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into 
Jerusalem, celebrated by the Church on this day; we limit 
ourselves, however, to considering the event under one 
aspect merely, in order to draw therefrom a moral lesson for 
our spiritual instruction. Jesus Christ enters Jerusalem, and 
the people forthwith improvise a triumph all the more noble 
because it has cost neither blood nor tears, and so much the 
more touching because it is spontaneous. The whole town 
is in commotion, the roadway is strewn with branches and 
covered with the garments of the bystanders, every mouth 
resounding with acclamations, and blessings, and praise. 
Jesus Christ is proclaimed the son of David, the King of the 
nation and the Messiah. Ere a few days are sped, the very 
people that had applauded now clamor for His death, curse 
and insult Him, and assist at His degrading death with 
fiendish cries of triumph. 

Even thus pass away the glories of the world, its joys, its 
possessions, even life itself. To-day at the height of great- 
ness, to-morrow in the deepest abasement ; but yesterday the 
idol of a nation, to-day the object of its hate; now sur- 
rounded with prosperity, and yet a little while, borne down 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



15 



by misfortune; one day full of life and vigor, and the next 
consigned to the tomb. 

Foolish, then, are they who would account as of any 
value, or would cling to, things perishable! What bitter 
awakenings have not such poor deluded beings to expect, 
and what chagrin and tearful disappointments do they not 
create for themselves! The Christian who places the aim of 
his hopes and the centre of his affections at a higher range is 




both wiser and more happy. Prosperity does not blind nor 
inebriate him, since he knows it to be capricious and change- 
ful; adverse fortune does not overwhelm him, because he 
was prepared for it and awaited it with calmness. The un- 
foreseen alone affords any ground for fear ; and to the faithful 
Christian there is nothing that is unforeseen. 

Reflection. — The recommendation given by the great 
Apostle may be aptly brought to mind: "And they that 
weep be as though they wept not ; and they that rejoice, as 
they rejoiced not; and they that use this world, as though 
they used it not ; for the fashion of this world passeth away." 



> 



1 6 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 




MAUNDY THURSDAY. 



On Thursday, the eve of the Passion, Jesus Christ took 
bread, and having blessed it, broke and distributed it to His 
apostles, saying to them, " Take and eat: this is my body, 
which shall be delivered for you." Then taking the chalice, 
He blessed and gave it to them, saying, " Drink ye all of ; 
this, for this is the chalice of my blood which shall be shed 
for you." He thereafter added, " This do in remembrancer 
of me." These words, in all their precision, simplicity, and 
clearness, contain the institution of the adorable Sacrament 
of the Eucharist, an irrefragable proof of the Real Presence 
of Jesus Christ in this Sacrament, and the demonstration of 
His perpetuity in the Church. But rather than indulge in 
reasoning, let us set forth briefly the principal effect. Jesus 
Christ, before instituting it, had said that this sacrament 
would communicate life eternal to those receiving it; and 
this, in one aspect at least, and so far as it is given to man to 
understand the mysteries of God, is comprehensible. Sin 
had implanted in man the germ of death and vice. By 
reason of his disobedience man had become incapable of 
good, or even of a holy thought, as the great Apostle tells 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



us. Now, in God is the source of being, life, good, virtue, 
and all excellence. God, by communicating Himself sub- 
stantially to man by means of this august sacrament, im- 
plants the germ of immortality and virtue. Man, if limited 
to his own powers, could not even think out a useful way of 
becoming virtuous, for whence should he take the principle 
of virtue and the means of putting it in practice? He would 
consequently have to incur eternal loss, since salvation with- 
out virtue is a thing utterly impossible. But once pervaded 
with the principle of grace by an intimate union with God, 
he has but to let it develop and to cultivate the good seed 
sown in him. Thus does the diamond, of itself colorless 
and dim, absorb the light when exposed thereto, becom- 
ing a sparkling centre of light, and shining with a radiant 
lustre. The more vivid the light the more brightly will 
the diamond shine, if it be pure. In like manner, the more 
man launches himself into the Divine substance, the more 
will he therewith be inundated by holy communion; the 
more potent also will his life become in virtues strong and 
manifold, and, consequently, in sure claims to salvation. 

Reflection. — With what respect, love, and ardor ought 
we not to receive this divine food, " which maketh to live 
forever " ! 

GOOD FRIDAY. 

Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross about mid-day, ex- 
pired thereon in the afternoon, and was taken down in the 
evening toward sunset, or the sixth hour. According to the 
language of St. Paul, thus did He, by His blood, pacify 
heaven and earth. If this form of expression convey not 
simply the reconciliation of heaven with the earth, it veils 
a mystery impenetrable to feeble reason. But this very 
reconciliation is in itself the greatest mystery; for man always 
vainly tries to explain it by recurring to comparisons and con- 
siderations of human conception merely, which are vastly in- 
sufficient, from the fact of their being human. And what 
matters it, after all, whether we understand or not so great 
a mystery? Enough for us that it has produced its effect, 
and that we are able to adore it in gratitude and love. That 



i8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



philosophy should rail at what it does not fathom is sheer 
foolishness. Incredulity may scoff at what it does not recog- 
nize; it concerns it, however, to know whether reason be on 
its side. Let heresy explain, after human fashion, things 
divine; as for us Christians, let us fix our gaze on the Medi- 
ator between God and man, raised aloft between heaven and 
earth, with arms outstretching in order to enfold the uni- 
verse; with head down bent, to give to the world the kiss 
of peace and reconciliation, after having, at the cost of His 




blood, purchased peace, and let us humble our whole being 
in heartfelt thanksgiving and love. Let us reverently im- 
print our lips on this cross, the instrument of our salvation; 
let us bend down trembling before the just God, who takes 
such noble revenge for our guilt. By our works let us 
make some return for the price we have cost; by our peni- 
tence and tears let us apply to ourselves the merit of His 
redemption, and henceforth live only for heaven, since we 
have been made heirs to heaven. 

Reflection. — The cross, " to the Jews indeed a stum- 
bling-block, and to the Gentiles foolishness," is, withal, the 
instrument of Christ's power and of the wisdom of God. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



19 



HOLY SATURDAY 

Three hours after Jesus Christ had uttered His last sigh 
on the cross, two of His disciples, Nicodemus and Joseph of 
Arimathea, went to ask Pilate for the body, that they might 
give it burial. Having obtained it, they embalmed it accord- 
ing to the custom of the Jews, and deposited it not far from 
the place of Calvary, in a tomb hewn in the rock, wherein no 
one had yet been laid. Pilate caused the entrance to be 
sealed up, and placed a guard over it, lest the body should 




be taken away. The Saviour thus remained from nightfall 
on the Friday till the first rays of dawn on the Sunday. He 
had himself said that He was to pass this time in the tomb, 
and had quoted as an example the abiding of the prophet 
Jonas for the same space of time in the whale's belly. It was 
then a real death that was associated with these signs and 
precautions, and the sacrifice had been consummated and 
was irrevocable. W ell might we then marvel at such excess 
of love, covering ourselves with confusion at the thought of 
how feebly we love Him who hath so greatly loved us, and 
of how little we do for Him who hath accomplished so much 



20 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



for us. But we would enter upon another consideration. 
With Jesus Christ died both the ancient world with its 
hideous worship; the synagogue with its symbols and mys- 
teries; and the man of sin, the old Adam, with its concu- 
piscences — yea, even death itself, which had been inflicted 
on man in punishment for sin. With Jesus Christ died sin, 
and sin was placed in the tomb with Him; for, according to 
the beautiful expression of the Apostle, the Saviour fastened 
the sins of men to the cross. 

Now the cross itself was buried on the spot where Christ 
had suffered, as was the custom among the Jews, and as was 
fully shown by the finding thereof in conjunction with those 
of the two thieves, three centuries later, by St. Helen ; 
whence it follows that among us Christians, the disciples, 
that is, of Christ, and regenerated by His death, there ought 
never to lurk any shadow of Jewish superstition or pagan 
morals, any remnant of the old Adam or man of sin. Con- 
cupiscences, disorderly passions, and love of the world 
should no longer exist but as the memory of a time that is no 
more. 

Reflection. — " For we are buried together with Him 
by baptism unto death ; that as Christ is risen from the dead 
by the glory of His Father, so we also may walk in newness 
of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness 
of His death, we shall be also of His resurrection. Know- 
ing this, that the old man is crucified with Him, thai the body 
of sin may be destroyed, and that we may serve sin no 
longer." 

EASTER SUNDAY. 

The resurrection of the dead is one of the most consoling 
truths of Christianity. To die forever would be the most 
terrible of all destinies. The plant and the animal, un- 
endowed with reason, die, never to live again; but they have 
not at least any apprehension as to what death is. To die 
is to them one of the thousand accidents bound up with life ; 
to the plant it is as nothing, and for the animal without rea- 
son, a merely transitory pang, death itself being but the affair 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



of a moment. For man, on the contrary, death has terrors 
which precede it, anguish accompanying it, and apprehen- 
sions consequent upon it. The most strongly-attempted 
spirit shudders on reflecting that it must incur death ; the 
most selfish man has attachments which he with difficulty 
severs; the most determined unbeliever experiences doubts 
as to the shadowy To-morrow of death. Man would then be 



the most pitiable among all beings were Religion not at hand 
to say to him, " The grave is a place of momentary rest ; you 
will come forth thence one day. The God that gave being 
to your limbs will restore it ; the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
gives thereof an assured pledge." 

This confidence in the future resurrection is a subject of 
the greatest joy to the children of God, the groundwork of 
their faith, the mainspring of their hope, and most lasting 
comfort amid the evils of this life. For if Christ had not 
risen, says the Apostle St. Paul, in vain should we believe in 
Him. He would be convicted of having been an impostor 
and His apostles of being mad ; His death would not have 
availed us any thing, and we should still be dwelling in the 
bonds of sin. Those dying in Jesus Christ would perish, and 




22 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



our hope in Him not extending beyond the present life, we 
should be the most unfortunate of men, inasmuch as, after 
having had as our portion in this life, sufferings and afflic- 
tions, we should not be able to console ourselves with the 
expectation of future good. But Jesus Christ having come 
forth living from the tomb, His doctrine is confirmed by His 
resurrection; it establishes the certitude of His mission in 
His character as Son of God, the efficacy of the sacrifice He 
offered on the cross, the divinity of His priesthood, the re- 
wards of the other life, and the glorified resurrection of the 
flesh. 

Reflection. — We shall one day rise again; but let us 
range by the side of such a consoling expectation that ter- 
rible warning of the prophet Daniel, " Many of those that 
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some unto life ever- 
lasting, and others unto reproach eternal." 

THE ASCENSION. 

The mystery which the Church honors on this day is at 
the same time that of the triumph of Jesus Christ and the 
hallowed hope of His disciples. The Saviour, after having 
accomplished His mission on earth, ascends to heaven to put 
His manhood in possession of the glory due to it, and to pre- 
pare for us an abiding-place. He ascends thither as our 
King, Liberator, Chief, and Mediator. Our King, because He 
has purchased us at the cost of His blood ; our Liberator, be- 
cause He has conquered death and sin, and has ransomed us 
from the thraldom of Satan ; our Chief, because He wishes 
that we should follow in His footsteps, and that we should be 
where He is, even as He has Himself declared; our Mediator, 
because we can have access to the Father only through Him. 
He ascends thither as our High Priest, in order to offer un- 
ceasingly to God the blood which He has shed for us in His 
character of man, and to obtain for us through the merits of 
His sacrifice the remission of our sins, 

Let us, then, by means of faith, follow Him in His ascen- 
sion to heaven, and abide there henceforth in heart and spirit. 



LIVES OF THE SALNTS. 



23 



Let us remember that heaven is wholly ours, as our inherit- 
ance; and amid the temptations and miseries of this life, let 
us think often of this home of peace, of glory, and bliss 
eternal. 

We must not flatter ourselves, however, that, without 
earnest efforts on our part, we shall have any share in the 
kingdom of Jesus Christ. There are many mansions in the 




house of our heavenly Father, but there are not many roads 
leading thither. Jesus Christ has traced out for us the way 
of humiliation and suffering, and it is the only one that con- 
ducts to eternal peace. If the hardships of the journey and 
the sight of our own weakness strike us with dread, we should 
gather energy by leaning on the promises of the God-Man. 
He will be with us even unto the end, and if we love Him, 
all will become easy. 

Reflection. — Let us cherish hope : " Christ being 
come, a High Priest of the good things to come, hath entered 
into the holy of holies, by His own blood having obtained 
eternal redemption." 



2 4 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



WHIT-SUNDAY. 

Fifty days after Easter, the apostles and disciples of 
Jesus Christ were assembled in an upper chamber, engaged 
in prayer, according to the recommendation of the Divine 
Master, and awaiting the accomplishment of the promise 
He had made to them, of sending them a Comforting Spirit, 
the Paraclete, who should teach them all things. Lo! a great 




noise, as of a rushing tempest, was suddenly heard, the house 
was rocked to and fro, and tongues of fire were seen resting 
on the head of each one. At once all were changed into 
new men, their minds being endowed with full understanding 
of the Scriptures and of the wonders they had hitherto wit- 
nessed without comprehending, and their souls were filled 
with strength from on high ; thenceforth they belonged no 
more to themselves but to the work of the Gospel. From 
that time forth this Divine Spirit has not ceased to pour itself 
forth upon the Church to enlighten, confirm, protect, and 
guide ; it has not ceased communicating itself to each of the 
"faithful individually, either by means of the sacraments or 
by grace, whenever it has found hearts well disposed, 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



25 



The Fathers of the Church and all theologians are of one 
mind in recognizing, in the workings of the Holy Ghost in 
the hearts of the faithful, seven chief gifts: Wisdom, Under- 
standing, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and the Fear 
of the Lord. The gift of Wisdom helps us to judge healthily 
of all things concerning our last end ; the gift of Understand- 
ing, to apprehend the truths revealed, and to submit our 
hearts thereto ; the gift of Counsel, to choose in all things the 
part best fitted for the sanctification of our souls ; the gift of 
Fortitude, to resist temptations and overcome dangers ; the 
gift of Knowledge, to discern the best means of sanctifying 
ourselves ; the gift of Piety, or Godliness, causes us to love 
religion and the practices having reference to Divine Wor- 
ship ; the gift of the Fear of the Lord turns us aside from 
sin and from whatever may displease God. 

Reflection. — " They that are according to the flesh 
mind the things that are of the flesh; but they that are 
according to the Spirit mind the things that are of the Spirit. 
For the wisdom of the flesh is death; but the wisdom of the 
Spirit is life and peace." 

TRINITY SUNDAY. 

The Holy Trinity is one only God in three Persons, the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in all things and 
co-eternal. The Father gives being to the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son: the most 
adorable, truly, of all mysteries, and likewise the most im- 
penetrable! St. Anselm has endeavored to explain it from 
a single point of view only, and has accomplished this in a 
masterly yet necessarily insufficient manner. The Father, he 
says, cannot exist a single instant without knowing Himself, 
because, in God, to know is to exist, even as to will is to act. 
This knowledge, personified, is " the Word," His Son. The 
Son is, then, co-eternal with the Father. The Father and the 
Son cannot exist a single instant without loving each other; 
their mutual love is again personified, because in God to 
love is still to exist, God being love itself. This third Person, 
thus co-eternal with the other two Persons, is the Holy 



26 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



Ghost. But the inhabitants with God can alone understand 
these wonders, and they understand because they see them. 

The free-thinker, surrounded by the mysteries of nature, 
and who is to himself a complete mys:ery, is not willing to 
admit of any in religion. " I only wish to believe," he says, 
"what I understand!" The poor fool would not believe 
much were he taken at his word. He would neither believe 




in the food he takes, seeing that he could not explain how 
it imparts nourishment, nor in the light of the sun, since he 
does not apprehend how it brings him into relation with dis- 
tant objects, nor even in his own arguments, since he does 
not comprehend how his mind evokes and gives them shape. 

Literally speaking, there exist no mysteries, there are 
only truths; but truth becomes a mystery to him who does 
not understand it. Writing is a mystery to one who knows 
not how to read; it ceases to be so to any one who has re- 
ceived instruction. According as we educate the soul and 
widen the measure of knowledge, mysteries begin to disap- 
pear in proportion; therefore is it that there are no mysteries 
in heaven, because the angels and the blessed behold witli 
open gaze the objects whereof we now possess but the mys- 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



27 



terious definition. To deserve to behold them one day in 
their heavenly company, one condition is requisite, namely, 
to adore them meanwhile with steadfast and perfect faith in 
the Word of God, which proposes them for our belief. In 
the realms of nature, a mystery is a truth not understood, 
which one believes withal because one sees it. In the sphere 
of religion, a mystery is a truth not understood, which one 
believes because God has revealed it. 

Reflection. — Wherefore rebel against the Word of 
God? Is it not " as if the clay should rebel against the pot- 
ter, and the work should say to the worker thereof, Thou 
understandest not? " 

CORPUS CHRISTI. 

Till the thirteenth century the Church had not thought 
of establishing a special festival in honor of the Blessed 
Sacrament, being satisfied with celebrating on Holy Thurs- 
day the institution of this divine mystery. At that period, 
however, as heresiarchs dared to attack the Real Presence 
of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, and numerous miracles and 
special revelations had occurred to concentrate the attention 
of the Christian world on this dogma, Pope Urban IV. de- 
creed, in 1244, that a special feast should be instituted, which, 
by its solemnity and pomp, should be as a protestation in 
favor of the unwavering faith of the Church, and should, at 
the same time, offer an honorable reparation for the blasphe- 
mies of impious men. But this pontiff happening to die soon 
after, the Bull had not all the effect intended, and it was only 
after the Council of Vienne, held in 1332, that the feast of 
the Blessed Sacrament, or Corpus Christi, was definitely 
established throughout the Catholic world. The Holy Coun- 
cil of Trent newly approved in a formal and earnest manner 
both the worship itself and its attendant pomp. The Feast 
of Corpus Christi is then a solemn act of faith in the Real 
Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist; and this 
belief, to which the Church attaches an importance of the 
highest moment, is the very groundwork of Catholicity, or 
rather is the very essence of all Christianity; for if Jesus 



28 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



Christ be not present really and corporeally under the ele- 
ments of bread and wine, as He has Himself formally told us, 
His word is no longer reliable, He is no longer God, and 
there remains of religion naught save a beautiful but sterile 
philosophy, which each one can remodel after his own mind. 
If it be allowable, as Protestants contend, to interpret, in a 
purely allegorical sense, words of such clearness that there 
are not, throughout the whole of the Gospel, any more posi- 




tive or precise, it is permissible to interpret every thing at 
will, and the Gospel remains an enigma, the solution whereof 
is nowhere to be found. It is furthermore the intention of 
the Church to make an avowal of her love and gratitude to 
Jesus Christ, and to offer reparation for all the profanations 
and sacrileges to which this adorable sacrament has been 
exposed. 

Reflection. — O weak-hearted and lukewarm Christians! 
O ye infidels, unbelievers, and heretics of all ages! " if you did 
but know the gift of God, you would perhaps have asked of 
Him, ar.d He would have given you living water! " 



Lives of the Saints. 



«-•-» 

JANUARY i. — THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD. 

Circumcision was a sacrament of the old law, and the 
first legal observance required by Almighty God of the de- 
scendants of Abraham. It was a sacrament of initiation in 
the service of God, and a promise and engagement to believe 
and act as He had revealed and directed. The law of cir- 




cumcision continued in force until the death of Christ, and 
our Saviour being born under the law, it became Him, who 
came to teach mankind obedience to the law of God, to fulfil 
all justice, and to submit to it. Therefore He was circum- 

29 



3° 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 2. 



cised that He might redeem them that were under the law, by 
freeing them from the servitude of it ; and that those who 
were in the condition of servants before might be set at 
liberty, and receive the adoption of sons in baptism, which, by 
Christ's institution, succeeded to circumcision. On the day 
that the divine infant was circumcised, he received the name 
of Jesus, which signifies Saviour, which had been given him 
by the angel before he was conceived. That name, so beau- 
tiful, so glorious, the divine child does not wish to bear for 
one moment without fulfilling its meaning; even at the 
moment of his circumcision he showed himself a Saviour by 
shedding for us that blood, a single drop of which is more 
than sufficient for the ransom and salvation of the whole 
world. 

Reflection. — Let us profit by the circumstance of the 
new year, and of the wonderful renewal wrought in the world 
by the great mystery of this day, to renew in our hearts an 
increase of fervor and of generosity in the service of God. 
May this year be one of fervor and of progress! It will go 
by rapidly, like that which has just ended. If God permits 
us to see its end, how glad and happy we shall be to have 
passed it holily. 

JANUARY 2.— ST. FULGENTIUS, BISHOP. 

In spite of family troubles and delicate health, Fulgentius 
was appointed at an early age procurator of his province at 
Carthage. This success, however, did not satisfy his heart. 
Levying the taxes proved daily more distasteful, and when 
he was twenty-two, St. Austin's treatise on the Psalms 
decided him to enter religion. After six years of peace, his 
monastery was attacked by Arian heretics, and Fulgentius 
himself driven out destitute to the desert. He now sought 
the solitude of Egypt, but finding that country also in 
schism, he turned his steps to Rome. There the splendors 
of the Imperial Court only told him of the greater glory of 
the Heavenly Jerusalem, and at the first lull in the perse- 
cution he re-sought his African cell. Elected bishop in 508, 
he was summoned forth to face new dangers, and was shortly 



January 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



31 



after banished by the Arian king, Thrasimund, with fifty-nine 
orthodox prelates, to Sardinia. Though the youngest of the 
exiles, he was at once the mouthpiece of his brethren and the 
stay of their flocks. By his books and letters, which are still 
extant, he confounded both Pelagian and Arian heresiarchs, 
and confirmed the Catholics in Africa and Gaul. An Arian 
priest betrayed Fulgentius to the Numidians, and ordered 
him to be scourged. This was done. His hair and beard 
were plucked out, and he was left naked, his body one bleed- 
ing sore. Even the Arian bishop was ashamed of this 
brutality, and offered to punish the priest if the Saint would 
prosecute him. But Fulgentius replied, " A Christian must 
not seek revenge in this world. God knows how to right 
His servants' wrongs. If I were to bring the punishment of 
man on that priest, I should lose my own reward with God. 
And it would be a scandal to many little ones that a Catholic 
and a monk, however unworthy he be, should seek redress 
from an Arian bishop." On Thrasimund's death the bishops 
returned to their flocks, and Fulgentius, having re-estab- 
lished discipline in his see, retired to an island monastery, 
where after a year's preparation he died in peace in the 
year 533. 

Reflection. — Each year may bring us fresh changes 
and trials ; let us learn from St. Fulgentius to receive all that 
happens as from the hand of God, and appointed for our 
salvation. 

ST. MACARIUS OF ALEXANDRIA. 

Macarius when a youth left his fruit stall at Alexandria 
to join the great St. Anthony. The Patriarch, warned by a 
miracle of his disciple's sanctity, named him the heir of his 
virtues. His life was one long conflict with self. " I am 
tormenting my tormentor," replied he to one who met him 
bent double with a basket of sand in the heat of the day. 
" Whenever I am slothful and idle, I am pestered by desires 
for distant travel." When he was quite worn out he returned 
to his cell. Since sleep at times overpowered him, he kept 
watch for twenty days and nights; being about to faint, he 



32 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 2. 



entered his cell and slept, but henceforth, slept only at will. 
A gnat stung him, he killed it. In revenge for this softness 
he remained naked in a marsh till his body was covered 
with noxious bites, and he was recognized only by his voice. 
Once when thirsty he received a present of grapes, but passed 
them untouched to a hermit who was toiling in the heat. 
This one gave them to a third, who handed them to a fourth ; 
thus the grapes went the round of the desert, and returned 
to Macarius, who thanked God for his brethren's abstinence. 




Macarius saw demons assailing the hermits at prayer. They 
put their fingers into the mouths of some, and made them 
yawn. They closed the eyes of others, and walked upon 
them when asleep. They placed vain and sensual images 
before many of the brethren, and then mocked those who 
were captivated by them. None vanquished the devils 
effectually save those who by constant vigilance repelled 
them at once. Macarius visited one hermit daily for four 
months, but never could speak to him, as he was always in 
prayer; so he called him an " angel on earth." After being 
many years Superior, Macarius fled in disguise to St. 
Pachomius, to begin again as his novice ; but St. Pachomius, 



January 3.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



33 



instructed by a vision, bade him return to his brethren, who 
loved him as their father. In his old age, thinking nature 
tamed, he determined to spend five days alone in prayer. 
On the third day the cell seemed on fire, and Macarius came 
forth. God permitted this delusion, he said, lest he be en- 
snared by pride. At the age of seventy-three he was driven 
into exile, and brutally outraged by the Arian heretics. He 
died a.d. 394. 

Reflection. — Prayer is the breath of the soul. But St. 
Macarius teaches us that mind and body must be brought to 
subjection before the soul is free to pray. 

JANUARY 3. — ST. GENEVIEVE, VIRGIN. 

Genevieve was born at Nanterre, near Paris. St. Ger- 
manus, when passing through, specially noticed a little shep- 
herdess, and predicted her future sanctity. At seven years 




of age she made a vow of perpetual chastity. After the 
death of her parents, Paris became her abode ; but she often 
travelled on works of mercy, which, by the gifts of prophecy 
and miracles, she unfailingly performed. At one time she 
was cruelly persecuted; her enemies, jealous of her power, 



34 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 4. 



called her a hypocrite, and tried to drown her; but St. Ger- 
manus, having sent her some blessed bread as a token of 
esteem, the outcry ceased, and ever afterwards she was 
honored as a Saint. During the siege of Paris by Childeric, 
King of the Franks, Genevieve went out with a few fol- 
lowers and procured corn for the starving citizens. Never- 
theless Childeric, though a pagan, respected her, and at her 
request spared the lives of many prisoners. By her exhorta- 
tions again, when Attila and his Huns were approaching the 
city, the inhabitants, instead of taking flight, gave themselves 
to prayer and penance, and averted, as she had foretold, the 
impending scourge. Clovis, when converted from paganism 
by his holy wife, St. Clotilda, made Genevieve his constant 
adviser, and, in spite of his violent character, became a gener- 
ous and Christian king. She died within a few weeks of that 
monarch, in 512, aged eighty-nine. 

A pestilence broke out in Paris in 1129, which in a short 
time swept off 14,000 persons, and, in spite of all human 
efforts, daily added to its victims. At length, pn November 
26th, the shrine of St. Genevieve was carried in solemn pro- 
cession through the city. That same day but three persons 
died, the rest recovered, and no others were taken ill. This 
was but the first of a series of miraculous favors which the 
city of Paris has obtained through the relics of its patron 
Saint. 

Reflection. — Genevieve was only a poor peasant girl, 
but Christ dwelt in her heart. She was anointed with His 
Spirit, and with power; she went about doing good, and God 
was with her. 

JANUARY 4.— ST. TITUS, BISHOP. 

Titus was a convert from heathenism, a disciple of St. 
Paul, one of the chosen companions of the Apostle in his 
journey to the Council of Jerusalem, and his fellow-laborer 
in many apostolic missions. From the second epistle which 
St. Paul sent by the hand of Titus to the Corinthians we gain 
an insight into his character, and understand the strong 
affection which his master bore him. Titus had been com- 



January 4 ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



35 



missioned to carry out a twofold office, needing much firm- 
ness, discretion, and charity. He was to be the bearer of a 
severe rebuke to the Corinthians, who were giving scandal 
and wavering in their faith; and at the same time he was to 
put their charity to a further test by calling upon them for 
abundant alms for the church at Jerusalem. St. Paul mean- 
while anxiously awaited the result. At Troas he writes, 
" I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus, my 
brother." He set sail to Macedonia. Here at last Titus 
brought the good news. His success had been complete. 
He reported the sorrow, the zeal, the generosity of the 
Corinthians, till the Apostle could not contain his joy, and 
sent back to them his faithful messenger with the letter of 
comfort from which we have quoted. Titus was finally left 
as a bishop in Crete, and here he in turn received the epistle 
which bears his name, and here at last he died in peace. 

The mission of Titus to Corinth shows us how well the 
disciple caught the spirit of his Master. He knew how to 
.be firm and to inspire respect. The Corinthians, we are told, 
" Received him with fear and trembling." He was patient 
and painstaking. St. Paul " gave thanks to God who had 
put such carefulness for them in the heart of Titus." And 
these gifts were enhanced by a quickness to detect and call 
out all that was good in others, and by a joyousness which 
overflowed upon the spirit of St. Paul himself, who " abun- 
dantly rejoiced in the joy of Titus." 

Reflection. — Saints win their empire over the hearts 
of men by their wide and affectionate sympathy. This was 
the characteristic gift of St. Titus, as it was of St. Paul, St. 
Francis Xavier, and many others. 

ST. GREGORY, BISHOP. 

St. Gregory was one of the principal senators of Autun, 
and continued from the death of his wife a widower till the 
age of fifty-seven, at which time, for his singular virtues, he 
was consecrated bishop of Langres, which see he governed 
with admirable prudence and zeal thirty-three years, sancti- 
fying his pastoral labors by the most profound humility, 



36 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 5 




assiduous prayer, and extraordinary abstinence and mortifi- 
cation. An incredible number of infidels were converted by 
him from idolatry, and wordly Christians from their dis- 
orders. He died about the beginning of the year 541, but 
some days after the Epiphany. Out of devotion to St. Be- 
nignus, he desired to be buried near that saint's tomb at 
Dijon; this was executed by his virtuous son Tetricus, who 
succeeded him in his bishopric. 

JANUARY 5 ST. SIMEON STYLITES. 

One winter's day, about the year 401, the snow lay thick 
around Sisan, a little town in Cilicia. A shepherd boy, who 
could not lead his sheep to the fields on account of the cold, 
went to the church instead, and listened to the eight beati- 
tudes which were read that morning. He asked how these 
blessings were to be obtained, and when he was told of the 
monastic life, a thirst for perfection arose within him. He 
became the wonder of the world, the great St. Simeon Sty- 
lites. He was warned perfection would cost him dear, and 
so it did. A mere child, he began the monastic life, and 
therein passed a dozen years in superhuman austerity. He 
bound a rope round his waist till the flesh was putrefied. He 



January 5.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



37 



ate but once in seven days, and when God led him to a soli- 
tary life, kept fasts of forty days. Thirty-seven years he 
spent on the top of pillars, exposed to heat and cold, day and 
night adoring the majesty of God. Perfection was all in 
all to St. Simeon; the means nothing, except in so far as God 
chose them for him. The solitaries of Egypt were suspicious 
of a life so new and so strange, and they sent one of their 
number to bid St. Simeon come down from his pillar and 




return to the common life. In a moment the Saint made 
ready to descend, but the Egyptian religious was satisfied 
with this proof of humility. " Stay," he said, " and take 
courage; your way of life is from God." Cheerfulness, hu- 
mility, and obedience set their seal upon the austerities of 
St. Simeon. The words which God put into his mouth 
brought crowds of heathen to baptism, and of sinners to 
penance. At last, in the year 460, those who watched below 
noticed he had been motionless three whole days. Thev 
ascended, and found the old man's body still bent in the atti- 
tude of prayer, but his soul was with God. Extraordinary 
as the life of St. Simeon may appear, it teaches us two plain 
and practical lessons. First, we must constantly renew 
within ourselves an intense desire of perfection. Secondly, 



38 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [January 6. 

we must use with fidelity and courage the means of perfec- 
tion God points out. 

Reflection. — St. Augustine says: " This is the business 
of our life ; by effort and by toil, by prayer and supplication, 
to advance in the grace of God, till we come to that height of 
perfection in which with clean hearts we may behold God." 

JANUARY 6. — THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD. 

The word Epiphany means " manifestation," and it has 
passed into general acceptance throughout the universal 
Church, from the fact that Jesus Christ manifested to the eyes 




of men His divine mission on this day. First of all, when a 
miraculous star revealed His birth to the kings of the East, 
who, in spite of the difficulties and dangers of a long and 
tedious journey through deserts and mountains almost im- 
passable, hastened at once to Bethlehem to adore Him and 
to offer Him mystical presents, as to the King of kings, to 
the God of heaven and earth, and to a Man withal feeble and 
mortal. The second manifestation was when, going out 
from the waters of the Jordan, after having received baptism 
from the hands of St. John, the Holy Ghost descended on 



January 7.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



39 



Him in the visible form of a dove, and a voice from heaven 
was heard, saying: " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
well pleased." The third manifestation was that of His 
divine power when at the marriage-feast of Cana he changed 
the water into wine, at the sight whereof His disciples be- 
lieved in Him. The remembrance of these three great 
events, concurring to the same end, the Church has wished 
to celebrate in one and the same festival. 

Reflection. — Admire the almighty power of this little 
Child, who from His cradle makes known His coming to the 
shepherds and magi — to the shepherds by means of His 
angel, to the magi by a star in the East. Admire the docil- 
ity of these kings. Jesus is born. Behold them at His feet/ 
Let us be little, let us hide ourselves, and the divine strength 
will be granted to us. Let us be docile and quick in follow- 
ing divine inspirations, and we shall then become wise of the 
wisdom of God, powerful of His almighty power. 

JANUARY 7.— ST. LUCIAN, MARTYR. 

St. Lucian was born at Samosata, in Syria. Having lost 
his parents in his youth, he distributed all his worldly goods, 
of which he inherited an abundant share, to the poor, and 
withdrew to Edessa, to live near a holy man, named 
Macarius, who imbued his mind with a knowledge of the 
Holy Scriptures, and led him to the practice of the Christian 
virtues. Having become a priest, his time was divided be- 
tween the external duties of his holy state, the performance 
of works of charity, and the study of sacred literature. He 
revised the books of the Old and New Testament, expunging 
the errors which had found their way into the text either 
through the negligence of copyists or the malice of heretics, 
thus preparing the way for St. Jerome, who shortly after was 
to give to the world the Latin translation known as " The 
Vulgate." Having been denounced as a Christian, Lucian 
was thrown into prison and condemned to the torture, which 
was protracted for twelve whole days. Some Christians 
visited him in prison, on the feast of the Epiphany, and 
brought bread and wine to him ; while bound and chained 



40 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 8. 



down on his back, he consecrated the divine mysteries upon 
his own breast, and communicated the faithful who were 
present. He finished his glorious career in prison, and died 
with the words, " I am a Christian/' on his lips. 




Reflection. — If we would keep our faith pure, we must 
study its holy truths. We cannot detect falsehood till we 
know and love the truth; and to us the truth is not an ab- 
straction, but a Person, Jesus Christ, God and Man. 



JANUARY 8.— ST. APOLLINARIS, THE APOLOGIST, BISHOP. 

Claudius Apollinaris, Bishop of Hierapolis, in Phry- 
gia, was one of the most illustrious prelates of the second 
age. Notwithstanding the great encomiums bestowed on 
him by Eusebius, St. Jerome, Theodoret, and others, but lit- 
tle is known of his actions ; and his writings, which then were 
held in great esteem, seem now to be all lost. He wrote 
many able treatises against the heretics, and pointed out, as 
St. Jerome testifies, from what philosophical sect each 
heresy derived its errors. Nothing rendered his name so 
illustrious, however, as his noble apology for the Christian 
religion which he addressed to the Emperor Marcus 



January 8.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



41 



Aurelius, -about the year 175, soon after the miraculous vic- 
tory that prince had obtained over the Quadi by the prayers 
of the Christians. St. Apollinaris reminded the emperor of 
the benefit he had received from God through the prayers of 
his Christian subjects, and implored protection for them 
against the persecution of the pagans. Marcus Aurelius pub- 
lished an edict in which he forbade any one, under pain of 




death, to accuse a Christian on account of his religion ; but, 
by a strange inconsistency, he had not the courage to abolish 
the laws then in force against the Christians, and, as a con- 
sequence, many of them suffered martyrdom, though their 
accusers were also put to death. The date of St. Apollinaris' 
death is not known; the Roman Martyrology mentions him 
on the 8th of January. 

Reflection. — " Therefore I say unto you, all things 
whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall re- 
ceive: and they shall come unto you." 



42 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 9. 



JANUARY 9.— SS. JULIAN AND BASILISSA, MARTYRS. 

St. Julian and St. Basilissa, though married, lived, 
by mutual consent, in perpetual chastity ; they sanctified 
themselves by the most perfect exercises of an ascetic life, 
and employed their revenues in relieving the poor and the 
sick. For this purpose they converted their house into a 
kind of hospital, in which they sometimes entertained a 
thousand poor people. Basilissa attended those of her sex, 




in separate lodgings from the men; these were taken care of 
by Julian, who from his charity is named the Hospitalarian. 
Egypt, where they lived, had then begun to abound with 
examples of persons who, either in the cities or in the deserts, 
devoted themselves to the most perfect exercises of charity, 
penance, and mortification. Basilissa, after having stood 
seven persecutions, died in peace ; Julian survived her many 
years and received the crown of a glorious martyrdom, to- 
gether with Celsus, a youth, Antony, a priest, Anastatius, and 
Marcianilla, the mother of Celsus. Many churches and hos- 
pitals in the East, and especially in the West, bear the name 
of one or other of these martyrs. Four churches at Rome, 
and three out of five at Paris, which bear the name of St. 



January io.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



43 



Julian, were originally dedicated under the name St. Julian, 
the Hospitalarian and martyr. In the time of St. Gregory 
the Great, the skull of St. Julian was brought out of the East 
into France, and given to Queen Brunehault ; she gave it to 
the nunnery which she founded at Etampes; part of it is at 
present in the monastery of Morigny, near Etampes, and 
part in the church of the regular canonesses of St. Basilissa. 
at Paris. 

Reflection. — God often rewards men for works that are 
pleasing in his sight, by giving them grace and opportunity 
to do other works higher still. St. Augustine said, " I have 
never seen a compassionate and charitable man die a bad 
death." 

JANUARY io.— ST. WILLIAM, ARCHBISHOP. 

William Berruyer, of the illustrious family of the 
ancient Counts of Nevers, was educated by Peter the Hermit, 
Archdeacon of Soissons, his uncle by the mother's side. 
From his infancy William learned to despise the folly and 
emptiness of the world, to abhor its pleasures, and to trem- 
ble at its dangers. His only delight was in exercises of piety 
and in his studies, in which he employed his whole time with 
indefatigable application. He was made canon, first of Sois- 
sons, and afterwards of Paris ; but he soon resolved to aban- 
don the world, and retired into the solitude of Grandmont, 
where he lived with great regularity in that austere Order 
until finally he joined the Cistercians, then in wonderful odor 
of sanctity. After some time he was chosen prior of the 
Abbey of Pontigny, and afterwards became Abbot of Chaalis. 
On the death of Henri de Sully, Archbishop of Bourges, 
William was chosen to succeed him. The announcement of 
this new dignity which had fallen on him overwhelmed him 
with grief, and he would not have accepted the office had 
not the Pope and his general, the Abbot of Citeaux, com- 
manded him to do so. His first care in his new position was 
to conform his life to the most perfect rules of sanctity. He 
redoubled all his austerities, saying it was incumbent on him 
now to do penance for others as well as for himself. He 



44 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January ii. 



always wore a hair-shirt under his religious habit, and never 
added to his clothing in winter or diminished it in summer; 
he never ate any flesh-meat, though he had it at his table for 
strangers. When he drew near his end, he was, at his re- 
quest, laid on ashes in his hair-cloth, and in this posture ex- 
pired on the ioth of January, 1209. His body was interred 




in his cathedral, and being honored by many miracles, was 
taken up in 12 17, and in the year following, William was 
canonized by Pope Honorius III. 

Reflection. — The champions of faith prove the truth of 
their teaching no less by the holiness of their lives than by 
the force of their arguments. Never forget that to convert 
others we must first see to our own souls. 

JANUARY 11.— ST. THEODOSIUS, THE CENOBIARCH. 

Theodosius was born in Cappadocia in 423. The ex- 
ample of Abraham urged him to leave his country, and his 
desire to follow Jesus Christ attracted him to the religious 
life. He placed himself under Longinus, a very holy hermit, 
who sent him to govern a monastery near Bethlehem. 
Unable to bring himself to command others, he fled to a 



January ii.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



45 



cavern, where he lived in penance and prayer. His great 
charity, however, forbade him to refuse the charge of some 
disciples, who, few at first, became in time a vast number, and 
Theodosius built a large monastery and three churches for 
them. He became eventually Superior of the religious com- 
munities of Palestine. Theodosius accommodated himself 
so carefully to the characters of his subjects, that his reproofs 
were loved rather than dreaded. But once he was obliged 




to separate from the communion of the others a religious 
guilty of a grave fault. Instead of humbly accepting his 
sentence, the monk was arrogant enough to pretend to ; 
excommunicate Theodosius in revenge. Theodosius thought 
not of indignation, nor of his own position, but meekly sub- 
mitted to this false and unjust excommunication. This so 
touched the heart of his disciple that he submitted at once, 
and acknowledged his fault. Theodosius never refused as- 
sistance to any in poverty or affliction; on some days the 
monks laid more than a hundred tables for those in want. 
In times of famine, Theodosius forbade the alms to be dimin- 
ished, and often miraculously multiplied the provisions. He 
also built five hospitals, in which he lovingly served the sick, 
while by assiduous spiritual reading he maintained himself in 



4 6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 12. 



perfect recollection. He successfully opposed the Eutychian 
heresy in Jerusalem, and for this was banished by the em- 
peror. He suffered a long and painful malady, and refused 
to pray to be cured, calling it a salutary penance for his 
former successes. He died at the age of a hundred and six. 

Reflection. — St. Theodosius, for the sake of charity, 
sacrificed all he most prized — his home for the love of God, 
and his solitude for the love of his neighbor. Can ours be 
true charity if it costs us little or nothing? 

JANUARY 12.— ST. AELRED, ABBOT. 

" One thing thou lackest." In these words, God called 
Aelred from the court of a royal Saint, David, of Scotland, 
to the silence of the cloister. He left the king, the com- 
panions of his youth, and a friend most dear to obey the call. 




The conviction that in the world his soul was in danger alone 
enabled him to break such ties. Long afterwards the bitter- 
ness of the parting remained fresh in his soul, and he declared 
that, " though he had left his dear ones in the body to serve 
his Lord, his heart was ever with them." He entered the 
Cistercian Order, and even there his yearning for sympathy 



January 13.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



47 



showed itself in a special attraction to one among the breth- 
ren named Simon. This holy monk had left the world in his 
youth, and appeared as one deaf and dumb, so absorbed was 
he in God. One day Aelred, forgetting for the moment the 
rule of perpetual silence, spoke to him. At once he pros- 
trated himself at his feet in token of his fault; but Simon's 
look of pain and displeasure haunted him for many a year, and 
taught him to let no human feeling disturb for one moment 
his union with God. A certain novice once came to Aelred, 
saying that he must return to the world. But Aelred had 
begged his soul of God, and answered, " Brother, ruin not 
thyself; nevertheless thou canst not, even though thou 
wouldst." However, he would not listen, and wandered 
among the hills, thinking all the while he was going far from 
the abbey. At- sunset he found himself before a convent 
strangely like Rieveaux, and so it was. The first monk he 
met was Aelred, who fell on his neck, saying, " Son, why hast 
thou done so with me? Lo! I have wept for thee with many 
tears, and I trust in God that, as I have asked of Him, thou 
shalt not perish." The world does not so love its friends. 
At the command of his superiors Aelred composed his great 
works, the Spiritual Friendship and the Mirror of Charity. In 
the latter he says that true love of God is only to be ob- 
tained by joining ourselves in all things to the Passion of 
Christ. He died in 1167, founder and Abbot of Rieveaux, 
the most austere monastery in England, and Superior of 
some three hundred monks. 

Reflection. — When a man has given himself to God, 
God gives back friendship with all His other gifts a hundred- 
fold. Friends are then loved no longer for themselves only, 
but for God, and that with a love lively and tender; for God 
can easily purify feeling-. It is not feeling, but self-love, 
which corrupts friendship. 

JANUARY 13.— ST. VERONICA OF MILAN. 

Veronica's parents were peasants of a village near 
Milan. From her childhood she toiled hard in the house and 
the field, and accomplished cheerfully every menial task. 



4 8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 13. 



Gradually the desire for perfection grew within her ; she be- 
came deaf to the jokes and songs of her companions, and 
sometimes, when reaping and hoeing, would hide her face 
and weep. Knowing no letters, she began to be anxious 
about her learning, and rose secretly at night to teach her- 
self to read. Our Lady told her that other things were 
necessary, but not this. She showed Veronica three mys- 




tical letters, which would teach her more than books. The 
first signified purity of intention; the second, abhorrence of 
murmuring or criticism; the third, daily meditation on the 
Passion. By the first, she learned to begin her daily duties 
for no human motive, but for God alone. By the second, to 
carry out what she had thus begun by attending to her own 
affairs, never judging her neighbor, but praying for those 
who manifestly erred. By the third, she was enabled to for- 
get her own pains and sorrows in those of her Lord, and to 
weep hourly, but silently, over the memory of His wrongs. 
She had constant ecstasies, and saw in successive visions the 
whole life of Jesus, and many other mysteries. Yet, by a 
special grace, neither her raptures nor her tears ever inter- 
rupted her labors, which ended only with death. After three 



January 14.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



49 



years' patient waiting, she was received as a lay-sister in the 
convent of St. Martha, at Milan. The community was ex- 
tremely poor, and Veronica's duty was to beg through the 
city for their daily food. Three years after receiving the 
habit, she was afflicted with secret but constant bodily pains, 
yet never would consent to be relieved of any of her labors, 
or to omit one of her prayers. By exact obedience, she be- 
came a living copy of the rule, and obeyed with a smile the 
least hint of her Superior. She sought to the last the most 
hard and humbling occupations, and in their performance 
enjoyed some of the highest favors ever granted to Saint. 
She died in 1497, on tne day sne na< ^ foretold, after a six 
months' illness, aged fifty-two years, and in the thirtieth of 
her religious profession. 

Reflection. — When Veronica was urged in sickness to 
accept some exemption from her labors, her one answer was: 
" I must work while I can, while I have time." Dare we, 
then, waste ours? 

JANUARY 14.— ST. HILARY OF POITIERS. 

St. Hilary was a native of Poitiers, in Aquitaine. Born 
and educated a pagan, it was not till near middle age that he 
embraced Christianity, moved thereto mainly by the idea of 
God presented to him in the Holy Scriptures. He soon con- 
verted his wife and daughter, and separated himself rigidly 
from all un-Catholic company. In the beginning of his con- 
version, St. Hilary would not eat with Jews, or heretics, nor 
salute them by the way. But afterwards, for their sake, he 
relaxed this severity. He entered Holy Orders, and in 353 
was chosen bishop of his native city. Arianism, under the 
protection of the Emperor Constantius, was just then in the 
height of its power, and St. Hilary found himself called upon 
to support the orthodox cause in several Gallic councils, in 
which Arian bishops formed an overwhelming majority. He 
was in consequence accused to the emperor, who banished 
him to Phrygia. He spent his three years and more of exile 
in composing his great works on the Trinity. In 359 he 
attended the Council of Seleucia, in which Arians, semi- 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 15. 




Arians, and Catholics contended for the mastery. With the 
deputies of the council he proceeded to Constantinople, and 
there so dismayed the heads of the Arian party, that they 
prevailed upon the emperor to let him return to Gaul. He 
traversed Gaul, Italy, and Illyria, wherever he came discom- 
fiting the heretics, and procuring the triumph of orthodoxy. 
After seven or eight years of missionary travel he returned 
to Poitiers, where he died in peace in 368. 

Reflection. — Like St. Hilary, we, too, are called to a 
life-long contest with heretics ; we shall succeed in propor- 
tion as we combine hatred of heresy with compassion for its 
victims. 

JANUARY 15.— ST. PAUL, THE FIRST HERMIT. 

St. Paul was born in Upper Egypt, about the year 230, 
and became an orphan at the age of fifteen, being very rich 
and highly educated. Fearing lest the tortures of a terrible 
persecution might endanger his perseverance, he retired into 
a remote village. But his pagan brother-in-law denounced 
him, and St. Paul, rather than remain where his faith was in 
danger, entered the barren desert, trusting that God would 



January 15.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



51 



supply his wants. And his confidence was rewarded; for in 
the spot to which Providence led him he found the Luit of the 
palm-tree for food, and its leaves for clothing, and the water 
of the spring for drink. His first design was to return to 
the world when the persecution was over, but tasting great 
delights in prayer and penance, he remained the rest of his 
life, ninety years, in penance, prayer, and contemplation. 
God revealed his existence to St. Antony, who sought him 
for three days. Seeing a thirsty she-wolf run through an 
opening in the rocks, Antony followed her to look for water, 




and found Paul. They knew each other at once, and praised 
God together. When St. Antony visited him, a raven 
brought him a loaf, and St. Paul said, " See how good God is! 
For sixty years this bird has brought me half a loaf every 
day; now thou art come, Christ has doubled the provision 
for His servants." Having passed the night in prayer, at 
dawn of day Paul told Antony he was about to die, and asked 
to be buried in the cloak given to Antony by St. Athanasius. 
Antony hastened to fetch it, and on his way back saw Paul 
rise to heaven in glory. He found his dead body kneeling 
as if in prayer, and two lions came and dug his grave. Paul 
died in his one hundred and thirteenth year. 



$2 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 16. 



Reflection. — We shall never repent of having trusted 
in God, for He cannot fail those who lean on Him; nor shall 
we ever trusj in ourselves without being deceived. 

JANUARY 16.— ST. HONORATUS, ARCHBISHOP. 

St. Honoratus was of a consular Roman family, settled 
in Gaul. In his youth he renounced the worship of idols, 
and gained his elder brother, Venantius, to Christ. Con- 
vinced of the hollowness of the things of this world, they 
wished to renounce it with all its pleasures, but a fond, pagan 
father put continual obstacles in their way. At length, tak- 




ing with them St. Caprais, a holy hermit, for their director, 
they sailed from Marseilles to Greece, with the intention to 
live there unknown, in some desert. Venantius soon died 
happily at Methone, and Honoratus, being also sick, was 
obliged to return with his conductor. He first led an eremit- 
ical life in the mountains, near Frejus. Two small islands 
lie in the sea near that coast ; on the smaller, now known as 
St. Honore, our saint settled; and being followed by others,, 
he there founded the famous monastery of Lerins, about the 
year 400. Some of his followers he appointed to live in 



January 17.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



53 



community; others, who seemed more perfect, in separate 
cells as anchorets. His rule was chiefly borrowed from that 
of St. Pachomius. Nothing can be more amiable than the 
description St. Hilary has given of the excellent virtues of 
this company of saints, especially of the charity, concord, 
humility, compunction, and devotion which reigned among 
them, under the conduct of our holy abbot. He was by 
compulsion, consecrated Archbishop of Aries in 426, and 
died, exhausted with austerities and apostolical labors, in 
429. 

Reflection. — The soul cannot truly serve God while it 
is involved in the distractions and pleasures of the world. St. 
Honoratus knew this, and chose to be a servant of Christ his 
Lord. Resolve, in whatever state you are, to live absolutely 
detached from the world, and to separate yourself as much 
as possible from it. 

JANAURY 17.— ST. ANTONY, PATRIARCH OF MONKS. 

St. Antony was born in the year 251, in Upper Egypt. 
Hearing at Mass the words, " If thou wilt be perfect, go sell 
what thou hast and give to the poor," he gave away all 
his vast possessions. He then begged an aged hermit to 
teach him the spiritual life. He also visited various solitaries, 
copying in himself the principal virtue of each. To serve God 
more perfectly, Antony entered the desert and immured 
himself in a ruin, building up the door so that none could 
enter. Here the devils assaulted him most furiously, ap- 
pearing as various monsters, and even wounding him 
severely ; but his courage never failed, and he overcame them 
all by confidence in God and the sign of the Cross. One 
night, whilst Antony was in his solitude, many devils 
scourged him so terribly that he lay as if dead. A friend 
found him thus, and believing him dead carried him home. 
But when Antony came to himself he persuaded his friend to 
carry him, in spite of his wounds, back to his solitude. Here, 
prostrate from weakness, he defied the devils, saying, " T fear 
you not ; you cannot separate me from the love of Christ." 
After more vain assaults, the devils fled, and Christ appeared 



54 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS, 



[January 18. 



to Antony in glory. His only food was bread and water, 
which he never tasted before sunset, and sometimes only 
once in two, three, or four days. He wore sackcloth and 
sheepskin, and he often knelt in prayer from sunset to sun- 
rise. Many souls flocked to him for advice, and after twenty 
years of solitude he consented to guide them in holiness: thus 
founding the first monastery. His numerous miracles at- 
tracted such multitudes that he fled again into solitude, 




where he lived by manual labor. He expired peacefully at a 
very advanced age. St. Athanasius, his biographer, says 
that the mere knowledge of how St. Anthony lived is a good 
guide to virtue. 

Reflection. — The more violent were the assaults of 
temptation suffered by St. Antony, the more firmly did he 
grasp his weapons, namely, mortification and prayer. Let 
us imitate him in this if we wish to obtain victories like his. 



JANUARY 18.— ST. PETER'S CHAIR AT ROME. 

St. Peter having triumphed over the devil in the East, 
pursued him to Rome in the person of Simon Magus. He 
who had formerly trembled at the voice of a poor maid, now 



January 18.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



55 



feared not the very throne of idolatry and superstition. The 
capital of the empire of the world, and the centre of impiety, 
called for the zeal of the Prince of Apostles. God had es- 
tablished the Roman Empire, and extended its dominion 
beyond that of any former monarchy, for the more easy prop- 
agation of His gospel. Its metropolis was of the greatest 
importance for this enterprise. St. Peter took that province 
upon himself, and repairing to Rome, there preached the 
faith, and established his ecclesiastical chair. That St. Peter 
preached in Rome, founded the church there, and died there 




by martyrdom under Nero, are facts the most incontestable 
by the testimony of all writers of different countries who 
lived near that time ; persons of unquestionable veracity, and 
who could not but be informed of the truth in a point so 
interesting, and of its own nature so public and notorious. 
This is also attested by monuments of every kind ; also by the 
prerogatives, rights, and privileges which that church en- 
joyed from those early ages, in consequence of this title. It 
was an ancient custom observed by churches, to keep an an- 
nual festival of the consecration of their bishops. The feast 
of the Chair of St. Peter is found in ancient martyrologies. 



56 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 19. 



Christians justly celebrate the founding of this mother- 
church, the centre of Catholic communion, in thanksgiving 
to God for His mercies to His Church, and to implore His 
future blessings. 

Reflection. — As one of God's greatest mercies to His 
Church, let us earnestly beg of Him to raise up in it zealous 
pastors, eminently replenished with His Spirit, with which 
He animated His apostles. 

JANUARY 19.— ST. CANUTUS, KING, MARTYR. 

St. Canutus, King of Denmark, was endowed with ex- 
cellent qualities of both mind and body. It is hard to say 
whether he excelled more in courage, or in conduct and skill 




in war; but his singular piety eclipsed all his other endow- 
ments. He cleared the seas of pirates, and subdued several 
neighboring provinces which infested Denmark with their 
incursions. The Kingdom of Denmark was elective till the 
year 1660, and when the father of Canutus died, his eldest 
brother, Harold, was called to the throne. Harold died after 
reigning for two years, and Canutus was chosen to succeed 



January 20.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



57 



him. He began his reign by a successful war against the 
troublesome, barbarous enemies of the state, and by planting 
the faith in the conquered provinces. Amid the glory of his 
victories, he humbly prostrated himself at the foot of the 
crucifix, laying there his diadem, and offering himself and 
his kingdom to the King of kings. After having provided 
for the peace and safety of his country, he married Eltha, 
daughter of Robert Earl of Flanders, who proved a spouse 
worthy of him. His next concern was to reform abuses at 
home. For this purpose he enacted severe but necessary 
laws for the strict administration of justice, and repressed the 
violence and tyranny of the great, without respect to per- 
sons. He countenanced and honored holy men, and granted 
many privileges and immunities to the clergy. His charity 
and tenderness towards his subjects made him study by all 
possible ways to make them a happy people. He showed 
a royal magnificence in building and adorning churches, and 
gave the crown which he wore, of exceeding great value, to 
a church in his capital and place of residence, where the kings 
of Denmark are yet buried. To the virtues which constitute a 
great king, Canutus added those which prove the great saint. 
A rebellion having sprung up in his kingdom, the king was 
surprised at church by the rebels. Perceiving his danger, 
he confessed his sins at the foot of the altar, and received 
holy communion. Stretching out his arms before the altar, 
the saint fervently recommended his soul to his Creator ; in 
this posture he was struck by a javelin, thrown through a 
window, and fell a victim for Christ's sake. 

Reflection. — The soul of a man is endowed with many 
noble powers, and feels a keen joy in their exercise ; but the 
keenest joy we are capable of feeling, consists in prostrating 
all our powers of mind and heart in humblest adoration be- 
fore the majesty of God. 

JANUARY 20.— ST. SEBASTIAN, MARTYR. 

St. Sebastian was an officer in the Roman army, es- 
teemed even by the heathen as a good soldier, and honored 
by the Church ever since as a champion of Jesus Christ. 



58 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 20. 



Born at Narbonne, Sebastian came to Rome about the year 
284, and entered the lists with the powers of evil. He found 
the twin brothers, Marcus and Marcellinus, in prison for the 
faith, and when they were near yielding to the entreaties of 
their relatives, encouraged them to despise flesh and blood, 
and to die for Christ. God confirmed his words by miracle ; 
light shone around him while he spoke ; he cured the sick by 
his prayers; and in this divine strength he led multitudes to 
the faith, and among them the Prefect of Rome, with his son 




Tiburtius. He saw his disciples die before him, and one of 
them came back from heaven to tell him his own end was 
near. It was in a contest of fervor and charity that St. Sebas- 
tian found the occasion of martyrdom. The Prefect of 
Rome, after his conversion, retired to his estates in Cam- 
pania, and took a great number of his fellow-converts with 
him to this place of safety. It was a question whether Poly- 
carp the priest, or St. Sebastian should accompany the 
neophytes. Each was eager to stay and face the danger at 
Rome, and at last the Pope decided that the Roman Church 
could not spare the services of Sebastian. He continued to 
labor at the post of danger till he was betrayed by a false 



January 21 j LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



59 



disciple. He was led before Diocletian, and, at the emperor's 
command, pierced with arrows and left for dead. But God 
raised him up again, and of his own accord he went before 
the emperor, and conjured him to stay the persecution of the 
Church. Again sentenced, he was at last beaten to death by 
clubs, and crowned his labors by the merit of a double mar- 
tyrdom. 

Reflection. — Your ordinary occupations will give you 
opportunities of laboring for the faith. Ask help from St. 
Sebastian. He was not a priest or a religious, but a soldier. 



JANUARY 21.— ST. AGNES, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

St. Agnes was but twelve years old when she was led to 
the altar of Minerva at Rome, and commanded to obey the 




persecuting laws of Diocletian, by offering incense. In the 
midst of the idolatrous rites she raised her hands to Christ, 
her Spouse, and made the sign of the life-giving Cross. She 
did not shrink when she was bound hand and foot, though 
the gyves slipped from her young hands and the heathens 



60 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [January 22. 

who stood around were moved to tears. The bonds were not 
needed for her, and she hastened gladly to the place of her 
torture. Next, when the judge saw that pain had no terrors 
for her, he inflicted an insult worse than death. Her clothes 
were stripped off, and she had to stand in the street before a 
pagan crowd ; yet even this did not daunt her. " Christ," 
she said, " will guard His own." So it was. Christ showed, 
by a miracle, the value which He sets upon the custody of the 
eyes. Whilst the crowd turned away their eyes from the 
spouse of Christ, as she stood exposed to view in the street, 
there was one young man who dared to gaze at the innocent 
child with immodest eyes. A flash of light struck him blind, 
and his companions bore him away half dead with pain and 
terror. 

Lastly, her fidelity to Christ was proved by flattery and 
offers of marriage. But she answered, " Christ is my Spouse: 
He chose me first, and His I will be." At length the sen- 
tence of death was passed. For a moment she stood erect 
in prayer, and then bowed her neck to the sword. At one 
stroke her head was severed from her body, and the angels 
bore her pure soul to Paradise. 

Reflection. — Her innocence endeared St. Agnes to 
Christ, as it has endeared her to His Church ever since. 
Even as penitents we may imitate this innocence of hers in 
our own degree. Let us strictly guard our eyes, and Christ, 
when He sees that we keep our hearts pure for love of Him, 
will renew our youth, and give us back the years which the 
canker-worm has wasted. 

JANUARY 22.— ST. VINCENT, MARTYR. 

Vincent was archdeacon of the church at Saragossa. 
Valerian, the bishop, had an impediment in his speech; thus 
Vincent preached in his stead and answered in his name when 
both were brought before Dacian the president, during the 
persecution of Diocletian. When the bishop was sent into 
banishment, Vincent remained to suffer and to die. First 
of all, he was stretched on the rack; and when he was almost 



January 22.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



6l 



torn asunder, Dacian the president asked him in mockery 
" how he fared now." Vincent answered, with joy in his 
face, that he had ever prayed to be as he was then. It was in 
vain that Dacian struck the executioners, and goaded them 
on in their savage work. The martyr's flesh was torn with 
hooks; he was bound in a chair of red-hot iron; lard and salt 
were rubbed into his wounds; and amid all this he kept his 
eyes raised to heaven and remained unmoved. He was cast 
into a solitary dungeon, with his feet in the stocks; but the 




angels of Christ illuminated the darkness, and assured Vin- 
cent that he was near his triumph. His wounds were now 
tended to prepare him for fresh torments, and the faithful 
were permitted to gaze on his mangled body. They came 
in troops, kissed the open sores, and carried away as relics 
cloths dipped in his blood. Before the tortures could re- 
commence, the martyr's hour came, and he breathed forth 
his soul in peace. 

Even the dead bodies of the saints aie precious in the 
sight of God, and the hand of iniquity cannot touch them. 
A raven guarded the body of Vincent where it lay flung upon 



62 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 23. 



the earth. When it was sunk out at sea the wave cast it 
ashore; and his relics are preserved to this day in the 
Augustinian monastery at Lisbon, for the consolation of the 
Church of Christ. 

Reflection. — Do you wish to be at peace amidst suffer- 
ing and temptation? Then make it your principal endeavor 
to grow in habits of prayer and in union with Christ. Have 
confidence in Him. He will make you victorious over your 
spiritual enemies and over yourself. He will enlighten your 
darkness and sweeten your sufferings, and in your solitude 
and desolation He will draw nigh to you with His holy 
angels. 



JANUARY 23.— ST. RAYMUND OF PENNAFORT. 

Born a.d. i 175, of a Spanish noble family, Raymund, 
at the age of twenty, taught philosophy at Barcelona with 




marvellous success. Ten years later, his rare abilities won 
for him the degree of Doctor in the University of Bologna, 
and many high dignities. A tender devotion to our Blessed 



January 23.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



63 



Lady, which had grown up with him from childhood, deter- 
mined him in middle life to renounce all his honors and to 
enter her Order of St. Dominic. There again a vision of 
the Mother of Mercy instructed him to cooperate with his 
penitent St. Peter Nolasco, and with James, King of Aragon, 
in founding the Order of Our Lady of Ransom for the Re- 
demption of Captives. He began this great work by preach- 
ing a crusade against the Moors, and rousing to penance 
the Christians, enslaved in both soul and body by the infidel. 
King James of x\ragon, a man of great qualities, but held 
in bond by a ruling passion, was bidden by the saint to put 
away the cause of his sin. On his delay, Raymund asked 
for leave to depart from Majorca, since he could not live with 
sin. The king refused, and forbade, under pain of death, 
his conveyance by others. Full of faith, Raymund spread 
his cloak upon the waters, and tying one end to his staff as 
a sail, made the sign of the Cross and fearlessly stepped 
upon it. In six hours he was borne to Barcelona, where, 
gathering up his cloak dry, he stole into his monastery. 
The king, overcome by this miracle, became a sincere peni- 
tent and the disciple of the Saint till his death. In 1230, 
Gregory IX. summoned Raymund to Rome, and made him 
his confessor and grand penitentiary, and directed him to 
compile " the Decretals," a collection of the scattered deci- 
sions of the Popes and Councils. Having refused the arch- 
bishopric of Tarragona, Raymund found himself in 1238 
chosen third general of his Order; which post he again suc- 
ceeded in resigning, on the score of his advanced age. His 
first act, when set free, was to resume his labors among the 
infidels, and in 1256, Raymund, then eighty-one, was able 
to report that ten thousand Saracens had received baptism. 
He died a.d. 1275. 

Reflection. — Ask St. Raymund to protect you from 
that fearful servitude, worse than any bodily slavery, which 
even one sinful habit tends to form. 



6 4 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 24, 



JANUARY 24.— ST. TIMOTHY, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

Timothy was a convert of St. Paul. He was born at 
Lystra, in Asia Minor. His mother was a Jewess, but his 
father was a pagan; and though Timothy had read the 
Scriptures from his childhood, he had not been circumcised 
as a Jew. On the arrival of St. Paul at Lystra the youth- 
ful Timothy, with his mother and grandmother, eagerly em- 
braced the faith. Seven years later, when the Apostle 




again visited the country, the boy had grown into manhood, 
while his good heart, his austerities, and zeal had won the 
esteem of all around him; and holy men were prophesying 
great things of the fervent youth. St. Paul at once saw his 
fitness for the work of an evangelist. Timothy was forth- 
with ordained, and from that time became the constant and 
much beloved fellow-worker of the Apostle. In company 
with St. Paul he visited the cities of Asia Minor and Greece; 
at one time hastening on in front as a trusted messenger, at 
another lingering behind to confirm in the faith some re- 
cently founded church. Finally, he was made the first 
Bishop of Ephesus; and here he received the two Epistles 



January 25.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



65 



which bear his name, the first written from Macedonia and 
the second from Rome, in which St. Paul from his prison 
gives vent to his longing desire to see his " dearly beloved 
son," if possible, once more before his death. St. Timothy 
himself, not many years after the death of St. Paul, won his 
martyr's crown at Ephesus. As a child Timothy delighted 
in reading the sacred books, and to his last hour he would re- 
member the parting words of his spiritual father, "Attende 
lectioni — Apply thyself to reading." 

Reflection. — St. Paul, in writing to Timothy, a faithful 
and well-tried servant of God, and a bishop now getting on 
in years, addresses him as a child, and seems most anxious 
about his perseverance in faith and piety. The letters 
abound in minute personal instructions for this end. It is 
therefore remarkable what great stress the Apostle lays on 
the avoiding of idle talk, and on the application to holy read- 
ing. These are his chief topics. Over and over again he 
exhorts his son Timothy to " avoid tattlers and busybodies; 
to give no heed to novelties; to shun profane and vain 
babblings; but to hold the form of sound words; to be an 
example in word and conversation; to attend to reading, to 
exhortation, and to doctrine." 

JANUARY 25. — THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. 

The great Apostle Paul, named Saul at his circumcision, 
was born at Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, and was by 
privilege a Roman citizen, to which quality a great distinc- 
tion and several exemptions were granted by the laws of the 
empire. He was early instructed in the strict observance of 
the Mosaic law, and lived up to it in the most scrupulous 
manner. In his zeal for the Jewish law, which he thought 
the cause of God, he became a violent persecutor of the 
Christians. He was one of those who combined to murder 
St. Stephen, and in the violent persecution of the faithful, 
which followed the martyrdom of the holy deacon, Saul sig- 
nalized himself above others. By virtue of the power he had 
received from the high priest, he dragged the Christians out 



66 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 25. 



of their houses, loaded them with chains and thrust them 
into prison. In the fury of his zeal he applied for a commis- 
sion to take up all Jews at Damascus who confessed Jesus 
Christ, and bring them bound to Jerusalem, that they might 
serve as examples for the others. But God was pleased to 
show forth in him His patience and mercy. While on his way 
to Damascus, he and his party were surrounded by a light 
from heaven, brighter than the sun, and suddenly struck 




to the ground. And then a voice was heard saying, " Saul, 
Saul, why dost thou persecute Me? " And Saul answered, 
" Who art thou, Lord? " and the voice replied, " I am Jesus 
whom thou dost persecute." This mild expostulation of our 
Redeemer, accompanied with a powerful interior grace, 
cured Saul's pride, assuaged his rage, and wrought at once 
a total change in him. Wherefore, trembling and astonished, 
he cried out, " Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? " Our 
Lord ordered him to arise and to proceed on his way to the 
city, where he should be informed of what was expected from 
him. Saul, arising from the ground, found that though his 
eyes were open, he saw nothing. He was led by hand into 



January 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



67 



Damascus, where he was lodged in the house of a Jew named 
Judas. To this house came by divine appointment a holy 
man named Ananias, who, laying his hands on Saul, said, 
" Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to thee on thy 
journey, hath sent me that thou mayest receive thy sight, 
and be filled with the Holy Ghost." Immediately something 
like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he recovered his eye- 
sight. Then he arose, and was baptized ; he stayed some few 
days with the disciples at Damascus, and began immediately 
to preach in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. 
Thus a blasphemer and a persecutor was made an apostle, 
and chosen as one of God's principal instruments in the con- 
version of the world. 

Reflection. — Listen to the words of the " Imitation of 
Christ," and let them sink into your heart: " He who would 
keep the grace of God, let him be grateful for grace when 
it is given, and patient when it is taken away. Let him pray 
that it may be given back to him, and be careful and humble, 
lest he lost it." 

JANUARY 26.— ST. POLYCARP, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, was a disciple of St. 
John. He wrote to the Philippians, exhorting them to mu- 
tual love and to hatred of heresy. When the apostate Mar- 
cion met St. Polycarp at Rome, he asked the aged saint 
if he knew him. " Yes," St. Polycarp answered, " I know 
you for the firstborn of Satan." These were the words of a 
saint most loving and most charitable, and specially noted 
for his compassion to sinners. He hated heresy because he 
loved God and man so much. In 167, persecution broke out 
in Smyrna. When Polycarp heard that his pursuers were 
at the door, he said, " The will of God be done ;" and meet- 
ing them, he begged to be left alone for a little time, which 
he spent in prayer for " the Catholic Church throughout the 
world." He was brought to Smyrna early on Holy Satur- 
day: and as he entered, a voice was heard from heaven, 
" Polycarp, be strong." When the proconsul besought him 



1 



68 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 26. 



to curse Christ and go free, Polycarp answered, " Eighty-six 
years I have served Him, and He never did me wrong; how 
can I blaspheme my King and Saviour? " When he threat- 
ened him with fire, Polycarp told him this fire of his lasted 
but a little, while the fire prepared for the wicked lasted for- 
ever. At the stake he thanked God aloud for letting him 
drink of Christ's chalice. The fire was lighted, but it did him 
no hurt; so he was stabbed to the heart, and his dead body 
was burnt. " Then," say the writers of the Acts, " we took 




up the bones, more precious than the richest jewels or gold 
and deposited them in a fitting place, at which may God 
grant us to assemble with joy to celebrate the birthday of the 
martyr to his life in heaven! " 

Reflection. — If we love Jesus Christ, we shall love the 
Church and hate heresy, which rends His mystical body, and 
destroys the souls for which He died. Like St. Polycarp, 
we shall maintain our constancy in the faith by love of Jesus 
Christ, who is its author and its finisher. 



January 27.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



69 



JANUARY 27.— ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. 

St. John was born at Antioch, in 344. In order to 
break with a world which admired and courted him, he in 
374 retired for six years to a neighboring mountain. Hav- 
ing thus acquired the art of Christian silence, he returned 
to Antioch, and there labored as priest, until he was or- 




dained Bishop of Constantinople in 398. The effect of his 
sermons was everywhere marvellous. He was very urgent 
that his people should frequent the Holy Sacrifice, and in 
order to remove all excuse he abbreviated the long Liturgy 
until then in use. St. Nilus relates that St. John Chrysos- 
tom was wont to see, when the priest began the holy sacri- 
fice, " many of the blessed ones coming down from heaven in 
shining garments, and with bare feet, eyes intent, and bowed 
heads, in utter stillness and silence, assisting at the consum- 
mation of the tremendous mystery." Beloved as he was in 
Constantinople, his denunciations of vice made him numer- 
ous enemies. In 403 these procured his banishment; and 
although he was almost immediately recalled, it was not 
more than a reprieve. In 404 he was banished to Cucusus 



;o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[January 28. 



in the deserts of Taurus. In 407 he was wearing out, but 
his enemies were impatient. They hurried him off to Pytius 
on the Euxine, a rough journey of nigh 400 miles. He 
was assiduously exposed to every hardship, cold, wet, and 
semi-starvation, but nothing could overcome his cheerful- 
ness and his consideration for others. On the journey his 
sickness increased, and he was warned that his end was 
nigh. Thereupon, exchanging his travel-stained clothes for 
white garments, he received Viaticum, and with his custom- 
ary words, " Glory be to God for all things, amen," passed 
to Christ. 

Reflection. — We should try to understand that the 
most productive work in the whole day, both for time and 
eternity, is that involved in hearing Mass. St. John Chry- 
sostom felt this so keenly, that he allowed no consideration 
of venerable usage to interfere with the easiness of hearing 
Mass. 

JANUARY 28.— ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. 

St. Cyril became Patriarch of Alexandria in 412. Hav- 
ing at first thrown himself with ardor into the party politics 
of the place, God called him to a nobler conflict. In 428, 
Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, began to deny the 
unity of Person in Christ, and to refuse to the Blessed Virgin 
the title of " Mother of God." Pie was strongly supported 
by disciples and friends throughout the East. As the asser- 
tion of the divine maternity of Our Lady was necessary to 
the integrity of the doctrine of the Incarnation, so, with St. 
Cyril, devotion to the Mother was the necessary complement 
of his devotion to the Son. St. Cyril, after expostulating 
in vain, accused Nestorius to Pope Celestine. The Pope 
commanded retraction, under pain of separation from the 
Church, and intrusted St. Cyril with the conduct of the pro- 
ceedings. The appointed day, June 7, 431, found Nestorius 
and Cyril at Ephesus, with over 200 Bishops. After wait- 
ing twelve days in vain for the Syrian Bishops, the Council 
with Cyril tried Nestorius, and deposed him from his see. 



January 29.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



/I 



Upon this the Syrians and Nestorians excommunicated St. 
Cyril, and complained of him to the emperor as a peace- 
breaker. Imprisoned and threatened with banishment, the 
saint rejoiced to confess Christ by suffering. In time it was 
recognized that St. Cyril was right, and with him the Church 
triumphed. Forgetting his wrongs, and careless of con- 




troversial punctilio, Cyril then reconciled himself with all 
who would consent to hold the doctrine of the Incarnation 
intact. He died in 444. 

Reflection. — The Incarnation is the mystery of God's 
dwelling within us, and therefore should be the dearest ob- 
ject of our contemplation. It was the passion of St. Cyril's 
life: for it he underwent toil and persecution, and willingly 
sacrificed credit and friends. 

JANUARY 29. — ST. FRANCIS OF SALES. 

Francis was born of noble and pious parents, near An- 
necy, a.d. 1567, and studied with brilliant success at Paris 
and Padua. On his return from Italy he gave up the grand 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [January 29. 



career which his father had marked out for him in the ser- 
vice of the State, and became a priest. When the Duke of 
Savoy had resolved to restore the Church in the Chablais, 
Francis offered himself for the work, and set out on foot 
with his Bible and breviary and one companion, his cousin 
Louis of Sales. It was a work of toil, privation, and dan- 
ger. Every door and every heart were closed against him. 
He was rejected with insult and threatened with death. 
But nothing could daunt or resist him, and ere long the 




Church burst forth into a second spring. It is stated that 
he converted 72,000 Calvinists. He was then compelled by 
the Pope to become Coadjutor Bishop of Geneva, and suc- 
ceeded to the see a.d. 1602. At times the exceeding gentle- 
ness with which he received heretics and sinners almost 
scandalized his friends, and one of them said to him, " Fran- 
cis of Sales will go to Paradise, of course; but I am not so 
sure of the Bishop of Geneva: I am almost afraid his gentle- 
ness will play him a shrewd turn." "Ah/' said the Saint, " I 
would rather account to God for too great gentleness than 
for too great severity. Is not God all love? God the 
Father is the Father of mercy; God the Son is a Lamb; God 



January 30.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



73 



the Holy Ghost is a Dove, that is, gentleness itself. And 
are you wiser than* God? " In union with St. Jane Frances 
of Chantal he founded at Annecy the Order of the Visitation, 
which soon spread over Europe. Though poor, he refused 
provisions and dignities, and even the great see of Paris. 
He died at Avignon, a.d. 1622. 

Reflection. — n You will catch more flies," St. Francis 
used to say, " with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred 
barrels of vinegar. Were there any thing better or fairer 
on earth than gentleness, Jesus Christ would have taught 
it us; and yet He has given us only two lessons to learn of 
Him — meekness and humility of heart." 

JANUARY 30.— ST. BATHILDES, QUEEN. 



St. Bathildes w T as an Englishwoman, who was carried 
over whilst yet young into France, and there sold for a 




slave, at a very low price, to Erkenwald, mayor of the palace 
under King Clovis II. When she grew up, her master was 
so much taken with her prudence and virtue, that he placed 
her in charge of his household. The renown of her virtues 



74 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [January 31, 



spread through all France, and King Clovis II. took her for 
his royal consort. This unexpected elevation produced no 
alteration in a heart perfectly grounded in humility and the 
other virtues; she seemed to become even more humble than 
before. Her new station furnished her the means of being 
truly a mother to the poor; the king gave her the sanction 
of his royal authority for the protection of the Church, the 
care of the poor, and the furtherance of all religious under- 
takings. The death of her husband left her regent of the 
kingdom. She at once forbade the enslavement of Chris- 
tians, did all in her power to promote piety, and filled France 
with hospitals and religious houses. As soon as her son 
Clotaire was of an age to govern, she withdrew from the 
world and entered the convent of Chelles. Here she seemed 
entirely to forget her worldly dignity, and was to be dis- 
tinguished from the rest of the community only by her ex- 
treme humility, her obedience to her spiritual superiors, and 
her devotion to the sick, whom she comforted and served 
with wonderful charity. As she neared her end, God visited 
her with a severe illness, which she bore with Christian pa- 
tience until, on the 30th of January, 680, she yielded up her 
soul in devout prayer. 

Reflection. — In all that we do, let God and His holy will 
be always before our eyes, and our only aim and desire be 
to please Him. 

JANUARY 31. — ST. MARCELLA, WIDOW. 

St. Marcella, whom St. Jerome called the glory of the 
Roman women, became a widow in the seventh month after 
her marriage. Having determined to consecrate the re- 
mainder of her days to the service of God, she rejected the 
hand of Cerealis, the consul, uncle of Gallus Caesar, and re- 
solved to imitate the lives of the ascetics of the East. She 
abstained from wine and flesh-meat, employed all her time 
in pious reading, prayer, and visiting the churches, and never 
spoke with any man alone. Her example was followed by 
many who put themselves under her direction, and Rome 



January 31.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



75 



was in a short time filled with monasteries. When the Goths 
under Alaric plundered Rome in 410, our Saint suffered 
severely at the hands of the barbarian, who cruelly scourged 
her in order to make her reveal the treasures which she had 
long before distributed in charity. She trembled only how- 
ever for the innocence of her dear spiritual daughter, Prin- 




cipia, and falling at the feet of the cruel soldiers, she begged 
with many tears that they would offer no insult to that pure 
virgin. God moved them to compassion, and they con- 
ducted our Saint and her pupil to the church of St. Paul, to 
which Alaric had granted the right of sanctuary, with that 
of St. Peter. St. Marcella, who survived this but a short 
time, closed her eyes by a happy death, in the arms of St. 
Principia, about the end of August, 410. 



7 6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February i. 



FEBRUARY i.— ST. BRIDGID, ABBESS, AND PATRONESS 

OF IRELAND. 

Next to the glorious St. Patrick, St. Bridgid, whom we 
may consider his spiritual daughter in Christ, has ever been 
held in singular veneration in Ireland. She was born about 
the year 453, at Fochard in Ulster. During her infancy, her 




pious father saw in a vision men clothed in white garments 
pouring a sacred unguent on her head, thus prefiguring 
her future sanctity. While yet very young, Bridgid conse- 
crated her life to God, bestowed every thing at her disposal 
on the poor, and was the edification of all who knew her. 
She was very beautiful, and fearing that efforts might be 
made to induce her to break the vow by which she bound 
herself to God, and to bestow her hand on one of her many 
suitors, she prayed that she might become ugly and de- 
formed. Her prayer was heard, for her eye became swollen, 
and her whole countenance so changed that she was allowed 
to follow her vocation in peace, and marriage with her was 
no more thought of. When about twenty years old, our 



February I.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



77 



Saint made known to St. Mel, the nephew and disciple of 
St. Patrick, her intention to live only to Jesus Christ, and he 
consented to receive her sacred vows. On the appointed 
day the solemn ceremony of her profession was performed 
after the manner introduced by St. Patrick, the bishop offer- 
ing up many prayers, and investing Bridgid with a snow- 
white habit, and a cloak of the same color. While she bowed 
her head on this occasion to receive the veil, a miracle of a 
singularly striking and impressive nature occurred: that part 
of the wooden platform adjoining the altar on which she 
knelt recovered its original vitality, and put on all its former 
verdure, retaining it for a long time after. At the same 
moment Bridgid's eye was healed, and she became as beauti- 
ful and as lovely as ever. 

Encouraged by her example, several other ladies made 
their vows with her, and in compliance with the wish of the 
parents of her new associates, the Saint agreed to found a 
religious residence for herself and them in the vicinity. A 
convenient site having been fixed upon by the bishop, a con- 
vent, the first in Ireland, was erected upon it ; and in obedi- 
ence to the prelate Bridgid assumed the superiority. Her 
reputation for sanctity became greater every day ; and in pro- 
portion as it was diffused throughout the country the num- 
ber of candidates for admission into the new monastery in- 
creased. The bishops of Ireland, soon perceiving the impor- 
tant advantages which their respective dioceses would derive 
from similar foundations, persuaded the young and saintly 
abbess to visit different parts of the kingdom, and, as an op- 
portunity offered, introduce into each one the establishment 
of her institute. 

While thus engaged in a portion of the province of Con- 
naught, a deputation arrived from Leinster to solicit the 
Saint to take up her residence in that territory ; but the mo- 
tives which they urged were human, and such could have no 
weight with Bridgid. It was only the prospect of the many 
spiritual advantages that would result from compliance with 
the request that induced her to accede, as she did, to the 
wishes of those who had petitioned her. Taking with her 
a number of her spiritual daughters, our Saint journeyed to 



7% 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February i. 



Leinster, where they were received with many demonstra- 
tions of respect and joy. The site on which Kildare now 
stands appearing to be well adapted for a religious institute, 
there the Saint and her companions took up their abode. 
To the place appropriated for the new foundation some lands 
were annexed, the fruits of which were assigned to the little 
establishment. This donation indeed contributed to supply 
the wants of the community, but still the pious sisterhood 
principally depended for their maintenance on the liberality 
of their benefactors. Bridgid contrived, however, out of 
their small means to relieve the poor of the vicinity very con- 
siderably ; and when the wants of these indigent persons sur- 
passed her slender finances, she hesitated not to sacrifice for 
them the movables of the convent. On one occasion our 
Saint, imitating the burning charity of St. Ambrose and 
other great servants of God, sold some of the sacred vest- 
ments that she might procure the means of relieving their 
necessities. She was so humble that she sometimes at- 
tended the cattle on the land which belonged to her mon- 
astery. 

The renown of Bridgid's unbounded charity drew multi- 
tudes of the poor to Kildare; the fame of her piety attracted 
thither many persons anxious to solicit her prayers or to 
profit by her holy example. In course of time the number of 
these so much increased that it became necessary to pro- 
vide accommodation for them in the neighborhood of the 
new monastery, and thus was laid the foundation and origin 
of the town of Kildare. 

The spiritual exigencies of her community, and of those 
numerous strangers who resorted to the vicinity, having sug- 
gested to our Saint the expediency of having the locality 
erected into an episcopal see, she represented it to the prel- 
ates, to whom the consideration of it rightly belonged. 
Deeming the proposal just and useful, Conlath, a recluse of 
eminent sanctity, illustrious by the great things which God 
had granted to his prayers, was, at Bridgid's desire, chosen 
the first bishop of the newly erected diocese. In process of 
time it became the ecclesiastical metropolis of the province 
to which it belonged, probably in consequence of the general 



February i.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



79 



desire to honor the place in which St. Bridgid had so long 
dwelt. 

After seventy years devoted to the practice of the most 
sublime virtues, corporal infirmities admonished our Saint 
that the time of her dissolution was nigh. It was now half 
a century since, by her holy vows, she had irrevocably conse- 
crated herself to God, and during that period great results 
had been attained; her holy institute having widely diffused 
itself throughout the Green Isle, and greatly advanced the 
cause of religion in the various districts in which it was estab- 
lished. Like a river of peace, its progress was steady and 
silent; it fertilized every region fortunate enough to receive 
its waters, and caused them to put forth spiritual flowers and 
fruits with all the sweet perfume of evangelical fragrance. 
The remembrance of the glory she had procured to the Most 
High, as well as the services rendered to dear souls ransomed 
by the precious Blood of her divine Spouse, cheered and con- 
soled Bridgid in the infirmities inseparable from old age. 
Her last illness was soothed by the presence of Nennidh, a 
priest of eminent sanctity, over whose youth she had watched 
with pious solicitude, and who was indebted to her prayers 
and instructions for his great proficiency in sublime perfec- 
tion. The day on which our abbess was to terminate her 
course, February ist, 523, having arrived, she received from 
the hands of this saintly priest the blessed Body and Blood of 
her Lord in the divine Eucharist, and, as it would seem, im- 
mediately after her spirit passed forth, and went to possess 
Him in that heavenly country where He is seen face to face 
and enjoyed without danger of ever losing Him. Her body 
was interred in the church adjoining her convent, but was 
some time after exhumed, and deposited in a splendid shrine 
near the high altar. 

In the ninth century, the country being desolated by the 
Danes, the remains of St. Bridgid were removed in order to 
secure them from irreverence; and, being transferred to 
Down-Patrick, were deposited in the same grave with those 
of the glorious St. Patrick. Their bodies, together with that 
of St. Columba, were translated afterwards to the cathedral 
of the same city, but their monument was destroyed in the 



8o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [February i. 



reign of King Henry VIII. The head of St. Bridgid is now 
kept in the church of the Jesuits at Lisbon. 

Reflection. — Outward resemblance to Our Lady was 
St. Bridgid's peculiar privilege; but all are bound to grow 
like her in interior purity of heart. This grace St. Bridgid 
has obtained in a wonderful degree for the daughters of her 
native land, and will never fail to procure for all her devout 
clients. 

ST. IGNATIUS, BISHOP, MARTYR. 



St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, was the disciple of St. 
John. When Domitian persecuted the Church, St. Ignatius 




obtained peace for his own flock by fasting and prayer. But 
for his part he desired to suffer with Christ, and to prove 
himself a perfect disciple. In the year 107, Trajan came to 
Antioch, and forced the Christians to choose between apos- 
tasy and death. " Who art thou, poor devil," the emperor 
said, when Ignatius was brought before him, " who settest 
our commands at naught? " " Call not him ' poor devil,' " 



February 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



8 1 



Ignatius answered, " who bears God within him." And 
when the emperor questioned him about his meaning, Igna- 
tius explained that he bore in his heart Christ crucified for 
his sake. Thereupon the emperor condemned him to be 
torn to pieces by wild beasts at Rome. St. Ignatius thanked 
God, who had so honored him, " binding him in the chains 
of Paul, His apostle." 

He journeyed to Rome, guarded by soldiers, and with no 
fear, except of losing the martyr's crown. He was devoured 
by lions in the Roman amphitheatre. The wild beasts left 
nothing of his body, except a few bones, which were rever- 
ently treasured at Antioch, until their removal to the Church 
of St. Clement, at Rome, in 637. After the martyr's death, 
several Christians saw him in vision standing before Christ, 
and interceding for them. 

Reflection. — Ask St. Ignatius to obtain for you the 
grace of profiting by all you have to suffer, and rejoicing in 
it as a means of likeness to your crucified Redeemer. 

FEBRUARY 2.— THE PURIFICATION, COMMONLY CALLED 
CANDLEMAS-DAY. 

The law of God, given by Moses to the Jews, ordained 
that a woman, after child-birth, should continue for a certain 
time in a state which that law calls unclean, during which 
she was not to appear in public, nor presume to touch any 
thing consecrated to God. This term was of forty days upon 
the birth of a son, and double that time for a daughter. On 
the expiration of the term, the mother was to bring to the 
door of the tabernacle, or temple, a lamb and a young 
pigeon, or turtle-dove, as an offering to God. These being 
sacrificed to Almighty God by the priest, the woman was 
cleansed of the legal impurity and reinstated in her former 
privileges. 

A young pigeon, or turtle-dove, by way of a sin-offering, 
was required of all, whether rich or poor; but as the expense 
of a lamb might be too great for persons in poor circum- 
stances, they were allowed to substitute for it a second dove. 



82 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 2. 



Our Saviour having been conceived by the Holy Ghost, 
and His blessed Mother remaining always a spotless virgin, 
it is evident that she did not come under the law ; but as the 
world was, as yet, ignorant of her miraculous conception, she 
submitted with great punctuality and exactness to every 
humbling circumstance which the law required. Devotion 
and zeal to honor God by every observance prescribed by 
His law, prompted Mary to perform this act of religion 




though evidently exempt from the precept. Being poor 
herself, she made the offering appointed for» the poor ; but, 
however mean in itself, it was made with a perfect heart, 
which is what God chiefly regards in all that is offered to 
Him. Besides the law which obliged the mother to purify 
herself, there was another which ordered that the first-born 
son should be offered to God, and that, after its presenta- 
tion, the child should be ransomed with a certain sum of 
money, and peculiar sacrifices offered on the occasion. 

Mary complies exactly with all these ordinances. She 
obeys not only in the essential points of the law, but has 
strict regard to all the circumstances. She remains forty 
days at home ; she denies herself, all this time, the liberty of 



February 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



83 



entering the temple ; she partakes not of things sacred ; and 
on the day of her purification she walks several miles to 
Jerusalem, with the world's Redeemer in her arms. She 
waits for the priest at the gate of the temple, makes her 
offerings of thanksgiving and expiation, presents her Divine 
Son by the hands of the priest to his eternal Father, with 
the most profound humility, adoration, and thanksgiving. 
She then redeems Him with five shekels, as the law appoints, 
and receives Him back again as a sacred charge committed 
to her special care, till the Father shall again demand Him 
for the full accomplishment of man's redemption. 

The ceremony of this day was closed by a third mystery — 
the meeting in the temple of the holy persons, Simeon and 
Anne, with Jesus and his parents. Holy Simeon, on that 
occasion, received into his arms the object of all his desires 
and sighs, and praised God for being blessed with the happi- 
ness of beholding the so-much-longed-for Messias. He 
foretold to Mary her martyrdom of sorrow, and that Jesus 
brought redemption to those who would accept of it on the 
terms it was offered them ; but a heavy judgment on all 
infidels who should obstinately reject it, and on Christians, 
also, whose lives were a contradiction to his holy maxims 
and example. Mary, hearing this terrible prediction, did not 
answer one word, felt no agitation of mind from the present, 
no dread for the future ; but courageously and sweetly com- 
mitted all to God's holy will. Anne, also, the prophetess, 
who in her widowhood served God with great fervor, had the 
happiness to acknowledge and adore in this great mystery 
the Redeemer of the world. Simeon, having beheld Our 
Saviour, exclaimed: " Now dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, ac- 
cording to Thy word, because my eyes have seen Thy salva- 
tion." 

This feast is called Candlemas, because the Church 
blesses the candles to be borne in the procession of the day. 

Reflection. — Let us strive to imitate the humility of the 
ever-blessed Mother of God, remembering that humility is 
the path which leads to abiding peace, and brings us near to 
the consolations of God. 



8 4 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 3. 



FEBRUARY 3 ST. BLASE, BISHOP AND MARTYR. 

St. Blase devoted the earlier years of his life to the study 
of philosophy, and afterwards became a physician. In the 
practice of his profession he saw so much of the miseries of 
life and the hollowness of worldly pleasures, that he resolved 
to spend the rest of his days in the service of God, and from 




being a healer of bodily ailments to become a physician of 
souls. The bishop of Sebaste, in Arminia, having died, our 
Saint, much to the gratification of the inhabitants of that 
city, was appointed to succeed him. St. Blase at once began 
to instruct his people as much by his example as by his 
words, and the great virtues and sanctity of this servant of 
God were attested by many miracles. From all parts the 
people came flocking to him for the cure of bodily and spirit- 
ual ills. Agricolaus, Governor of Cappadocia and the lesser 
Armenia, having begun a persecution by order of the 
Emperor Licinius, our Saint was seized and hurried off to 
prison. Whilst on his way there, a distracted mother, whose 
only child was dying of a throat disease, threw herself at the 
feet of St. Blase and implored his intercession. Touched at 



February 4.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



85 



her grief, the Saint offered up his prayers, and the child was 
cured ; and since that time his aid has often been effectually 
solicited in cases of a similar disease. Refusing to worship 
the false gods of the heathens, St. Blase was first scourged; 
his body was then torn with hooks, and finally he was be- 
headed in the year 316. 

Reflection. — There is no sacrifice which, by the aid of 
grace, human nature is not capable of accomplishing. When 
St. Paul complained to God of the violence of the tempta- 
tion, God answered, " My grace is sufficient for thee, for 
power is made perfect in infirmity." 

FEBRUARY 4.— ST. JANE, OF VALOIS. 



Born of the blood royal of France, herself a queen, Jane 
of Valois led a life remarkable for its humiliations even in the 




annals of the Saints. Her father, Louis XL, who had hoped 
for a son to succeed him, banished Jane from his palace, and, 
it is said, even attempted her life. At the age of five the 
neglected child offered her whole heart to God, and yearned 



86 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 4. 



to do some special service in honor of His Blessed Mother. 
At the king's wish, though against her own inclination, she 
was married to the Duke of Orleans. Towards an indiffer- 
ent and unworthy husband her conduct was ever most pa- 
tient and dutiful. Her prayers and tears saved him from 
a traitor's death, and shortened the captivity which his re- 
bellion had merited. Still nothing could win a heart which 
was already given to another. When her husband ascended 
the throne as Louis XII., his first act was to repudiate by 
false representations one who through twenty-two years of 
cruel neglect had been his true and loyal wife. At the final 
sentence of separation, the saintly queen exclaimed, " God 
be praised who has allowed this, that I may serve Him bet- 
ter than I have heretofore done." Retiring to Bourges, she 
there realized her long-formed desire by founding the Order 
of the Annunciation, in honor of the Mother of God. 

Under the guidance of St. Francis of Paula, the director 
of her childhood, St. Jane was enabled to overcome the seri- 
ous obstacles which even good people raised against the 
foundation of her new Order. In 1501 the rule of the An- 
nunciation was finally approved by Alexander VI. The 
chief aim of the Institute was to imitate the ten virtues prac- 
tised by Our Lady in the Mystery of the Incarnation, the 
superioress being called " Ancelle," handmaid, in honor of 
Mary's humility. St. Jane built and endowed the first con- 
vent of the Order in 1502. She died in heroic sanctity, a.d. 
1505, and was buried in the royal crown and purple, beneath 
which lay the habit of her Order. 

Reflection. — During the lifetime of St. Jane, the An- 
gelus was established in France. The sound of the Ave 
thrice each day gave her hope in her sorrow, and fostered 
in her the desire still further to honor the Incarnation. How 
often might we derive grace from the same beautiful devo- 
tion, so enriched by the Church yet neglected by so many 
Christians! 



February 5.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



8/ 



FEBRUARY 5.— ST. AGATHA, VIRGIN, MARTYR, 

St. Agatha was born in Sicily, of rich and noble par- 
ents — a child of benediction from the first, for she was 
promised to her parents before her birth, and consecrated 
from her earliest infancy to God. In the midst of dangers 
and temptations she served Christ in purity of body and soul, 
and she died for the love of chastity. Quintanus, who gov- 
erned Sicily under the Emperor Decius, had heard the rumor 
of her beauty and wealth, and he made the laws against the 
Christians a pretext for summoning her from Palermo to 
Catania, where he was at the time. " O Jesus Christ! " she 
cried, as she set out on this dreaded journey, " all that I am 
is Thine; preserve me against the tyrant." 

And Our Lord did indeed preserve one who had given 
herself so utterly to Him. He kept her pure and undefiled, 
while she was imprisoned for a whole month under charge 
of an evil woman. He gave her strength to reply to the 
offer of her life and safety, if she would but consent to sin, 
" Christ alone is my life and my salvation." When Quin- 
tanus turned from passion to cruelty, and cut off her breasts, 
Our Lord sent the Prince of His Apostles to heal her. And 
when, after she had been rolled naked upon potsherds, she 
asked that her torments might be ended, her Spouse heard 
her prayer, and took her to Himself. 

St. Agatha gave herself without reserve to Jesus Christ; 
she followed Him in virginal purity, and then looked to Him 
for protection. And down to this day Christ has shown 
His tender regard for the very body of St. Agatha. Again 
and again, during the eruption of Mount Etna, the people 
of Catania have exposed her veil for public veneration, and 
found safety by this means; and in modern times, on open- 
ing the tomb in which her body lies waiting for the resur- 
rection, they beheld the skin still entire, and felt the sweet 
fragrance which issued from this temple of the Holy Ghost. 

Reflection. — Purity is a gift of God: we can gain it 
and preserve it only by care and diligence in avoiding all 
that may prove an incentive to sin. 



88 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 5. 



THE MARTYRS OF JAPAN. 

About forty years after St. Francis Xavier's death, a 
persecution broke out in Japan, and all Christian rites were 
forbidden under pain of death. A confraternity of martyrs 
was at once formed, the object of which was to die for Christ. 
Even the little children joined it. Peter, a Christian child 




six years old, was awakened early, and told that he was to 
be beheaded, together with his father. Strong in grace, he 
expressed his joy at the news, dressed himself in his gayest 
clothing, and took the hand of the soldier who was to lead 
him to death. The headless trunk of his father first met his 
view; calmly kneeling down, he prayed beside the corpse, 
and, loosening his collar, prepared his neck for the stroke. 
Moved by this touching scene, the executioner threw down 
his sabre and fled. None but a brutal slave could be found 
for the murderous task ; with unskilled and trembling hand 
he hacked the child to pieces, who at last died without utter- 
ing a single cry. Christians were branded with the cross, 
or all but buried alive, while the head and arms were slowly 
sawn off with blunt weapons. The least shudder under theii 



February 6.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



8 9 



anguish was interpreted into apostasy. The obstinate were 
put to the most cruel deaths, but the survivors only envied 
them. Five noblemen were escorted to the stake by 40,000 
Christians with flowers and lights, singing the Litanies of 
Our Lady as they went. In the great martyrdom, at which 
thousands also assisted, the martyrs sent up a flood of mel- 
ody from the fire, which only died away as one after another 
went to sing the new song in heaven. Later on, a more 
awful doom was invented. The victims were lowered into 
a sulphurous chasm, called the " mouth of hell," near which 
no bird or beast could live. The chief of these, Paul Wiborg, 
whose family had been already massacred for the faith, was 
thrice let down; thrice he cried with a loud voice, " Eternal 
praise be to the ever-adorable Sacrament of the Altar." The 
third time he went to his reward. 

Reflection. — If mere children face torture and death 
with joy for Christ, can we begrudge the slight penance He 
asks us to bear? 

FEBRUARY 6. — ST. DOROTHY, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

St. Dorothy was a young virgin, celebrated at Csesarea, 
where she lived, for her angelic virtue. Her parents seem 
to have been martyred before her in the Diocletian persecu- 
tion, and when the Governor Sapricius came to Caesarea, he 
called her before him, and sent this child of martyrs to the 
home where they were waiting for her. 

She was stretched upon the rack, and offered marriage if 
she would consent to sacrifice, or death if she refused. But 
she replied, that " Christ was her only Spouse, and death 
her desire." She was then placed in charge of two women 
who had fallen away from the Faith, in the hope that they 
might pervert her; but the fire of her own heart rekindled 
the flame in theirs, and led them back to Christ. When she 
was set once more on the rack, Sapricius himself was amazed 
at the heavenly look she wore, and asked her the cause of 
her joy. " Because," she said, " I have brought back two 
souls to Christ, and because I shall soon be in heaven rejoie- 



go 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 6. 



ing with the angels." Her joy grew as she was buffeted in 
the face, and her sides burnt with plates of red-hot iron. 
" Blessed be Thou," she cried, when she was sentenced to be 
beheaded, — " blessed be Thou, O Thou Lover of souls! who 
dost call me to Paradise, and invitest me to Thy nuptial 
chamber." 

St. Dorothy suffered in the dead of winter, and it is said 
that on the road to her passion a lawyer called Theophilus, 




who had been used to calumniate and persecute the Chris- 
tians, asked her, in mockery, to send him " apples or roses 
from the garden of her Spouse." The Saint promised tc 
grant his request, and, just before she died, a little child 
stood by her side bearing three apples and three roses. She 
bade him take them to Theophilus, and tell him this was the 
present which he sought from the garden of her Spouse. 
St. Dorothy had gone to heaven, and Theophilus was still 
making merry over his challenge to the Saint, when the child 
entered his room. He saw that the child was an angel in 
disguise, and the fruit and flowers of no earthly growth. He 
was converted to the faith, and then shared in the martyr- 
dom of St. Dorothy. 



February 7.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



Reflection. — Do you wish to be safe in the pleasures 
and happy in the troubles of the world? Pray for heavenly 
desires, and say with St. Philip, " Paradise, Paradise! " 

FEBRUARY 7. — ST. ROMUALD, ABBOT. 

In 976, Sergius, a nobleman of Ravenna, quarrelled with 
a relation about an estate, and slew him in a duel. His son 
Romuald, horrified at his father's crime, entered the Bene- 
dictine monastery at Classe, to do a forty days' penance for 




him. This penance ended in his own vocation to religion. 
After three years at Classe, Romuald went to live as a her- 
mit near Venice, where he was joined by Peter Urseolus, 
Duke of Venice, and together they led a most austere life 
in the midst of assaults from the evil spirits. St. Romuald 
founded many monasteries, the chief of which was that at 
Camaldoli, a wild desert place, where he built a church, which 
he surrounded with a number of separate cells for the soli- 
taries who lived under his rule. His disciples were hence 
called Camaldolese. He is said to have seen here a vision of 
a mystic ladder, and his white-clothed monks ascending by 



9 2 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 8. 



it to heaven. Among his first disciples were Sts. Adalbert 
and Boniface, apostles of Russia, and Sts. John and Benedict 
of Poland, martyrs for the Faith. He was an intimate 
friend of the Emperor St. Henry, and was reverenced and 
consulted by many great men of his time. He once passed 
seven years in solitude and complete silence. In his youth 
St. Romuald was much troubled by temptations of the flesh. 
To escape them he had recourse to hunting, and in the woods 
first conceived his love for solitude. His father's sin, as we 
have seen, first prompted him to undertake a forty days' 
penance in the monastery, which he forthwith made his 
home. Some bad example of his fellow-monks induced him 
to leave them, and adopt the solitary mode of life. The 
penance of Urseolus, who had obtained his power wrong- 
fully, brought him his first disciple; the temptations of the 
devil compelled him to his severe life; and finally the perse- 
cutions of others were the occasion of his settlement at 
Camaldoli, and the foundation of his Order. He died, as 
he had foretold twenty years before, alone, in his monastery 
of Val Castro, on the 19th of June, 1027. 

Reflection. — St. Romuald's life teaches us that, if we 
only follow the impulses of the Holy Spirit, we shall easily 
find good everywhere, even on the most unlikely occasions. 
Our own sins, the sins of others, their ill-will against us, or 
our own mistakes and misfortunes, are equally capable of 
leading us, with softened hearts, to the feet of God's mercy 
and love. 

FEBRUARY 8. — ST. JOHN OF MATHA. 

The life of St. John of Matha was one long course of 
self-sacrifice for the glory of God and the good of his neigh- 
bor. As a child, his chief delight was serving the poor; 
and he often told them he had come into the world for no 
other end but to wash their feet. He studied at Paris with 
such distinction that his professors advised him to become 
a priest, in order that his talents might render greater ser- 
vice to others; and, for this end, John gladly sacrificed his 
high rank and other worldly advantages. At his first Mas? 



February 8.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



93 



an angel appeared, clad in white, with a red and blue cross 
on his breast, and his hands reposing on the heads of a Chris- 
tian and a Moorish captive. To ascertain what this signi- 
fied, John repaired to St. Felix of Valois, a holy hermit living 
near Meaux, under whose direction he led a life of extreme 
penance. The angel again appeared; and they then set out 
for Rome, to learn the will of God from the lips of the Sov- 
ereign Pontiff, who told them to devote themselves to the 




redemption of captives. For this purpose they founded the 
Order of the Holy Trinity. The Religious fasted every day, 
and gathering alms throughout Europe took them to Bar- 
bary, to redeem the Christian slaves. They devoted them- 
selves also to the sick and prisoners in all countries. The 
charity of St. John in devoting his life to the redemption of 
captives was visibly blessed by God. On his second return 
from Tunis he brought back one hundred and twenty liber- 
ated slaves. But the Moors attacked him at sea, over- 
powered his vessel, and doomed it to destruction, with all on 
board, by taking away the rudder and sails, and leaving it to 
the mercy of the winds. St. John tied his cloak to the mast, 
and prayed, saying, " Let God arise, and let His enemies be 
scattered. O Lord, Thou wilt save the humble, and wilt 



94 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [February 9. 



bring down the eyes of the proud." Suddenly the wind 
filled the small sail, and, without guidance, carried the ship 
safely in a few days to Ostia, the port of Rome, three hun- 
dred leagues from Tunis. Worn out by his heroic labors, 
John died in 12 13, at the age of fifty-three. 

Reflection. — Let us never forget that our Blessed Lord 
bade us love our neighbor not only as ourselves, but as He 
loved us, who afterward sacrificed Himself for us. 

FEBRUARY 9. — ST. APOLLONIA AND THE MARTYRS OF 

ALEXANDRIA. 

At Alexandria, in 249, the mob rose in savage fury 
against the Christians. Metras, an old man, perished first. 
His eyes were pierced with reeds, and he was stoned to death. 
A woman named Quinta was the next victim. She was led 




to a heathen temple and bidden worship. She replied by 
cursing the false god again and again, and she too was 
stoned to death. After this the houses of the Christians 
were sacked and plundered. They took the spoiling of their 
goods with all joy. 



February io.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



95 



St. Apollonia, an aged virgin, was the most famous 
among the martyrs. Her teeth were beaten out ; she was led 
outside the city ; a huge fire was kindled, and she was told 
she must deny Christ, or else be burned alive. She was silent 
for a while, and then, moved by a special inspiration of the 
Holy Ghost, she leapt into the fire and died in its flames. 
The same courage showed itself the next year, when Decius 
became Emperor, and the persecution grew till it seemed as 
if the very elect must fall away. The story of Dioscorus 
illustrates the courage of the Alexandrian Christians, and 
the esteem they had for martyrdom. He was a boy of fif- 
teen. To the arguments of the judge he returned wise 
answers ; he was proof against torture. His older com- 
panions were executed, but Dioscorus was spared on ac- 
count of his tender years ; yet the Christians could not bear 
to think that he had been deprived of the martyr's crown, 
except to receive it afterward more gloriously. " Dioscorus," 
writes Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria at this time, " re- 
mains with us, reserved for some longer and greater com- 
bat." There were indeed many Christians who came, pale 
and trembling, to offer the heathen sacrifices. But the 
judges themselves were struck with horror at the multitudes 
who rushed to martyrdom. Women triumphed over torture, 
till at last the judges were glad to execute them at once, and 
put an end to the ignominy of their own defeat. 

Reflection. — Many Saints, who were not martyrs, have 
longed to shed their blood for Christ. We, too, may pray 
-for some portion of their spirit ; and the least suffering for 
the Faith, borne with humility and courage, is the proof that 
Christ has heard our prayer. 

FEBRUARY io.— ST. SCHOLASTICA, ABBESS. 

Of this Saint but little is known on earth, save that she 
was the sister of the great patriarch St. Benedict, and that, 
under his direction, she founded and governed a numerous 
community near Monte Cassino. St. Gregory sums up her 
life by saying that she devoted herself to God from her child- 



9 6 



LIVES OF THE^ SAINTS. [February io> 



hood, and that her pure soul went to God in the likeness of a 
dove, as if to show that her life had been enriched with the 
fullest gifts of the Holy Spirit. Her brother was accustomed 
to visit her every year, for " she could not be sated or 
wearied with the words of grace which flowed from his lips." 
On his last visit, after a day passed in spiritual converse, the 
Saint, knowing that her end was near, said, " My brother, 
leave me not, I pray you, this night, but discourse with me 




till dawn on the bliss of those who see God in heaven." St. 
Benedict would not break his rule at the bidding of natural 
affection; and then the Saint bowed her head on her hands 
and prayed; and there arose a storm so violent that St. Bene- 
dict could not return to his monastery, and they passed the 
night in heavenly conversation. Three days later St. Bene- 
dict saw in a vision the soul of his sister going up in the like- 
ness of a dove into heaven. Then he gave thanks to God 
for the graces He had given her, and for the glory which had 
crowned them. When she died, St. Benedict, her spiritual 
daughters, and the monks sent by St. Benedict, mingled their 
tears and prayed, "Alas! alas! dearest mother, to whom 
dost thou leave us now? Pray for us to Jesus, to whom thou 



February ii.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



97 



art gone." They then devoutly celebrated Holy Mass, 
" commending her soul to God;" and her body was borne to 
Monte Cassino, and laid by her brother in the tomb he had 
prepared for himself. "And they bewailed her many days; 
and St. Benedict said, " Weep not, sisters and brothers ; for 
assuredly Jesus has taken her before us to be our aid and 
defence against all our enemies, that we may stand in the evil 
day, and be in all things perfect." She died about the 
year 543. 

Reflection. — Our relations must be loved in and for 
God. Otherwise the purest affection becomes inordinate, 
and is so much taken from Him. 

FEBRUARY 11.— ST. SEVERINUS, ABBOT OF AGAUNUM. 



St. Severinus, of a noble family in Burgundy, was edu- 
cated in the Catholic faith, at a time when the Arian heresy 




reigned in that country. He forsook the world in his youth, 
and dedicated himself to God in the monastery of Agaunum, 
which then only consisted of scattered cells, till the Catholic 
king Sigismund built there the great abbey of St. Maurice. 



9 8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [February 12. 



St. Severinus was the holy abbot of that place, and had 
governed his community many years in the exercise of pen- 
ance and charity, when, in 504, Clovis, the first Christian 
king of France, lying ill of a fever, which his physicians had 
for two years ineffectually endeavored to remove, sent his 
chamberlain to conduct the Saint to court; for it was said 
that the sick from all parts recovered their health by his 
prayers. St. Severinus took leave of his monks, telling them 
he should never see them more in this world. On his journey 
he healed Eulalius, bishop of Nevers, who had been for some 
time deaf and dumb, also a leper, at the gates of Paris; and 
coming to the palace he immediately restored the king to 
perfect health, by putting on him his own cloak. The king, 
in gratitude, distributed large alms to the poor, and released 
all his prisoners. St. Severinus, returning toward Agaunum, 
stopped at Chateau-Landon, in Gatinois, where two priests 
served God in a solitary chapel, among whom he was ad- 
mitted, at his request, as a stranger, and was soon greatly 
admired by them for his sanctity. He foresaw his death, 
which happened shortly after, in 507. The place is now an 
abbey of reformed canons regular of St. Austin. The 
Huguenots scattered the greatest part of his relics when they 
plundered this church. 

Reflection. — God loads with His favor those who 
delight in exercising mercy. " According to thy ability be 
merciful ; if thou hast much, give abundantly ; if thou hast 
little, take care even so to bestow willingly a little." 

FEBRUARY 12.— ST. BENEDICT OF ANIAN. 

Benedict was the son of Aigulf, Governor of Languedoc, 
and was born about 750. In his early youth he served as 
cupbearer to King Pepin and his son Charlemagne, enjoying 
under them great honors and possessions. Grace entered 
his soul at the age of twenty, and he resolved to seek the 
kingdom of God with his whole heart. Without relinquish- 
ing his place at court, he lived there a most mortified life for 
three years ; then a narrow escape from drowning made him 



February 12.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



99 



vow to quit the world, and he entered the cloister of St. 
Seine. In reward for his heroic austerities in the monastic 
state, God bestowed upon him the gift of tears, and inspired 
him with a knowledge of spiritual things. As procurator, 
he was most careful of the wants of the brethren, and most 
hospitable to the poor and to guests. Declining to accept 
the abbacy, he built himself a little hermitage on the brook 
Anian, and lived some years in great solitude and poverty. 




But the fame of his sanctity drawing many souls around him, 
he was obliged to build a large abbey, and within a short time 
governed three hundred monks. He became the great 
restorer of monastic discipline throughout France and Ger- 
many. First, he drew up with immense labor a code of the 
rules of St. Benedict, his great namesake, which he collated 
with those of the chief monastic founders, showing the uni- 
formity of the exercises in each, and enforced by his " Peni- 
tential " their exact observance ; secondly, he minutely reg- 
ulated all matters regarding food, clothing, and every detail 
of life; and thirdly, by prescribing the same for all, he 
excluded jealousies and insured perfect charity. In a Pro- 
vincial Council held in 813, under Charlemagne, at which he 
was present, it was declared that all monks of the West 



IOO 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 13. 



should adopt the rule of St. Benedict. He died February 11, 
821. 

Reflection. — The decay of monastic discipline, and its 
restoration by St. Benedict, prove that none are safe from 
loss of fervor, but that all can regain it by fidelity to grace. 

FEBRUARY 13.— ST. CATHERINE OF RICCI. 

Alexandrina of Ricci was the daughter of a noble Flor- 
entine. At the age of thirteen she entered the third Ordei 
of St. Dominic in the monastery of Prato, taking in religion 
the name of Catherine, after her patron and namesake of 




Siena. Her special attraction was to the Passion of Christ, 
in which she was permitted miraculously to participate. In 
the Lent of 1541, being then twenty-one years of age, she 
had a vision of the Crucifixion so heartrending, that she was 
confined to bed for three weeks, and was only restored, on 
Holy Saturday, by an apparition of St. Mary Magdalen and 
Jesus risen. During twelve years she passed every Friday 
in ecstasy. She received the sacred stigmata, the wound in 



February 14.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



IOI 



the left side, and the crown of thorns. All these favors gave 
her continual and intense suffering, and inspired her with a 
loving sympathy for the yet more bitter tortures of the Holy 
Souls. In their behalf she offered all her prayers and pen- 
ances; and her charity toward them became so famous 
throughout Tuscany, that after every death the friends of the 
deceased hastened to Catherine to secure her prayers. St. 
Catherine offered many prayers, fasts, and penances for a 
certain great man, and thus obtained his salvation. It was 
revealed to her that he was in Purgatory ; and such was her 
love of Jesus crucified, that she offered to suffer all the pains 
about to be inflicted on that soul. Her prayer was granted. 
The soul entered heaven, and for forty days Catherine suf- 
fered indescribable agonies. Her body was covered with 
blisters, emitting heat so great that her cell seemed on fire. 
Her flesh appeared as if roasted, and her tongue like red-hot 
iron. Amid all she was calm and joyful, saying, a I long to 
suffer all imaginable pains, that souls may quickly see and 
praise their Redeemer." She knew by revelation the arrival 
of a soul in Purgatory, and the hour of its release. She held 
intercourse with the Saints in glory, and frequently con- 
versed with St. Philip Neri at Rome without ever leaving her 
convent at Prato. She died, amid angels' songs, in 1589. 

Reflection. — If we truly love Jesus crucified, we must 
long, like St. Catherine, to release the Holy Souls whom He 
has redeemed, but has left to our charity to set free. 

FEBRUARY 14.— ST. VALENTINE, PRIEST AND MARTYR. 

Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St. 
Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the ^ execu- 
tion under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by 
the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his 
promises to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, com- 
manded him to be beaten with clubs, and afterward to be 
beheaded, which was executed on the 14th of February, 
about the year 270. Pope Julius I. is said to have built a 
church near Ponte Mole to his memory, which for a long 



ID2 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [FEBRUARY 1 5. 



time gave name to the gate, now called Porta del Popolo, 
formerly Porta Valentini. The greatest part of his relics 
are now in the church of St. Praxedes. To abolish the 




heathen's lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the 
names of girls, in honor of their goddess Februata Juno, on 
the 15th of this month, several zealous pastors substituted 
the names of Saints in billets given on this day. 



Reflection. — In the cause of justice and truth, prudetxe 
should not be held in account ; otherwise prudence is mere 
human respect. St. Paul says: " The wisdom of the flesh 
is death." 

FEBRUARY 15.— STS. FAUSTINUS AND JOVITA, MARTYRS. 

Faustinus and Jovita were brothers, nobly born, and 
zealous professors of the Christian religion, which they 
preached without fear in their city of Brescia, while the 
bishop of that place lay concealed during the persecution. 
Their remarkable zeal excited the fury of the heathens 
against them, and procured them a glorious death for their 
faith at Brescia, in Lombardy, under the Emperor Adrian. 



February 15.] 



LiVES OF THE SAINTS. 



103 



Julian, a heathen lord, apprehended them ; and the emperor 
himself, passing through Brescia, when neither threats nor 
torments could shake their constancy, commanded them to 




be beheaded. They seem to have suffered about the year 
121. The city of Brescia honors them as its chief patrons, 
possesses their relics, and a very ancient church in that city 
bears their names. 



Reflection. — The spirit of Christ is a spirit of martyr- 
dom — at least of mortification and penance. It is always 
the spirit of the cross. The more we share in the suffering 
life of Christ, the greater share we inherit in His spirit, and 
in the fruit of His death. To souls mortified to their senses 
and disengaged from earthly things, God gives frequent 
foretastes of the sweetness of eternal life, and the most ardent 
desires of possessing Him in His glory. This is the spirit 
of martyrdom, which entitles a Christian to a happy resur- 
rection and to the bliss of the life to come. 



104 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [Februar? l6 0 



FEBRUARY 16 BLESSED JOHN DE BRITTO, MARTYR. 

Don Pedro II. of Portugal, when a child, had among 
his little pages a modest boy of rich and princely parents. 
Much had John de Britto — for so was he called — to bear 
from his careless-living companions, to whom his holy life 
was a reproach. A terrible illness made him turn for aid to 
St. Francis Xavier, a Saint so well loved by the Portuguese; 
and when, in answer to his prayers, he recovered, his mother 
vested him for a year in the dress worn in those days by the 
Jesuit Fathers. From that time John's heart burned to fol- 
low the example of the Apostle of the Indies. He gained 
his double wish. On December 17, 1662, he entered the 
novitiate of the Society at Lisbon; and eleven years later, in 
spite of the most determined opposition of his family and of 
the court, he left all to go to convert the Hindoos of Madura. 
When Blessed John's mother knew that her son was going 
to the Indies, she used all her influence to prevent him leav- 
ing his own country, and persuaded the Papal Nuncio to 
interfere. " God, who called me from the world into relig- 
ious life, now calls me from Portugal to India," was the 
reply of the future martyr. " Not to answer the vocation as 
I ought, would be to provoke the justice of God. As long 
as I live, I shall never cease striving to gain a passage to 
India." For fourteen years he toiled; preaching, convert- 
ing, baptizing multitudes, at the cost of privations, hardships, 
and persecutions. At last, after being seized, tortured, and 
nearly massacred by the heathens, he was banished the 
country. Forced to return to Portugal, John once more 
broke through every obstacle, and went back again to his 
labor of love. Like St. John the Baptist, he died a victim 
to the anger of a guilty woman, whom a convert king had 
put aside, and like the Precursor, he was beheaded after a 
painful imprisonment. 

Reflection. — " It is a great honor, a great glory to 
serve God, and to contemn all things for God. They will 
have a great grace who freely subject themselves to God's 
most holy will." — The Imitation of Christ. 



February 16.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS, 



I05 



ST. ONESIMUS, DISCIPLE OF ST. PAUL. 

He was a Phrygian by birth, slave to Philemon, a person 
of note of the city of Colossi, converted to the faith by St. 
Paul. Having robbed his master, and being obliged to fly, 
he providentially met with St. Paul, then a prisoner for the 
faith at Rome, who there converted and baptized him, and 
sent him with his canonical letter of recommendation to 




Philemon, by whom he was pardoned, set at liberty, and 
sent back to his spiritual father, whom he afterward faith- 
fully served. That apostle made him, with Tychicus, the 
bearer of his epistle to the Colossians, and afterward, as St, 
Jerome and other fathers witness, a preacher of the Gospel 
and a bishop. He was crowned with martyrdom under 
Domitian in the year 95. 

Reflection. — With what excess of goodness does God 
communicate Himself to souls which open themselves to 
Him! With what caresses does He often visit them! With 
what a profusion of graces does He enrich and strengthen 
them! In our trials and temptations let us then offer our 



106 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [February 17. 

hearts to God, remembering as St. Paul says, " To them that 
love God all things work together unto good.' , 

FEBRUARY 17.— ST. FLAVIAN, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

Flavian was elected Patriarch of Constantinople in 447. 
His short episcopate of two years was a time of conflict and 
persecution f rom the first. Chrysaphius, the emperor's 
favorite, tried to extort a large sum of money from him on 




occasion of his consecration. His fidelity in refusing this 
simoniacal betrayal of his trust brought on him the enmity 
of the most powerful man in the empire. A graver trouble 
soon arose. In 448 Flavian had to condemn the rising 
heresy of the monk Eutyches, who obstinately denied that 
Our Lord was in two perfect natures after His Incarnation. 
Eutyches drew to his cause all the bad elements which so 
early gathered about the Byzantine court. His intrigues 
were long baffled by the vigilance of Flavian; but at last he 
obtained from the emperor the assembly of a counsel at 
Ephesus, in August, 449, presided over by his friend Diosco- 
rus, Patriarch of Alexandria. In this " robber council," as 



February 18.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



it is called, Eutyches entered, surrounded by soldiers. The 
Roman legates could not even read the Pope's letters; and 
at the first sign of resistance to the condemnation of Flavian, 
fresh troops entered with drawn swords, and, in spite of the 
protests of the legates, terrihed most of the bishops into 
acquiescence. 

The fury of Dioscorus reached its height when Flavian 
appealed to the Holy See. Then it was that he so forgot his 
apostolic office as to lay violent hands on his adversary. St. 
Flavian was set upon by Dioscorus and others, thrown down, 
beaten, kicked, and finally carried into banishment. Let us 
contrast their ends. Flavian clung to the teaching of the 
Roman Pontiff, and sealed his faith with his blood. Diosco- 
rus excommunicated the Vicar of Christ, and died obstinate 
and impenitent in the heresy of Eutyches. 

Reflection. — By his unswerving loyalty to the Vicar of 
Christ, Flavian held fast to_the truth and gained the mar- 
tyr's crown. Let us learn from him to turn instinctively to 
that one True Guide in all matters concerning our salvation. 

FEBRUARY 18.— ST. SIMEON, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

St. Simeon was the son of Cleophas, otherwise called 
Alpheus, brother to St. Joseph, and of Mary, sister of the 
Blessed Virgin. He was therefore nephew both to St. 
Joseph and to the Blessed Virgin, and cousin to Our Saviour. 
We cannot doubt but he was an early follower of Christ, and 
that he received the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, 
with the Blessed Virgin and the apostles. When the Jews 
massacred St. James the Lesser, his brother Simeon re- 
reproached them for their atrocious cruelty. St. James, 
Bishop of Jerusalem, being put to death in the year 62, 
twenty-nine years after Our Saviour's resurrection, the apos- 
tles and disciples met at Jerusalem to appoint him a succes- 
sor. They unanimously chose St. Simeon, who had probably 
before assisted his brother in the government of that Church. 

In the year 66, in which SS. Peter and Paul suffered 
martyrdom at Rome, the civil war began in Judea, by the 



io8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [February 18. 



seditions of the Jews against the Romans. The Christians 
in Jerusalem were warned by God of the impending destruc- 
tion of that city. They therefore departed out of it the same 
year, before Vespasian, Nero's general, and afterward em- 
peror, entered Judea, and retired beyond Jordan to a small 
city called Pella, having St. Simeon at their head. After 
the taking and burning of Jerusalem, they returned thither 
again, and settled themselves amidst its ruins, till Adrian 
afterward entirely razed it. The Church here flourished, and 




multitudes of Jews were converted by the great number of 
prodigies and miracles wrought in it. 

Vespasian and Domitian had commanded all to be put to 
death who were of the race of David. St. Simeon had 
escaped their searches ; but Trajan having given the same 
order, certain heretics and Jews accused the Saint, as being 
both of the race of David and a Christian, to Atticus, the 
Roman governor in Palestine. The holy bishop was con- 
demned to be crucified. After having undergone the usual 
tortures during several days, which, though one hundred 
and twenty years old, he suffered with so much patience that 
he drew on him a universal admiration, and that of Atticus in 



February 19. J 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



IO9 



particular, he died in 107. He must have governed the 
Church of Jerusalem about forty-three years. 

Reflection. — We bear the name of Christians, but are 
full of the spirit of worldlings, and our actions are infected 
with its poison. We secretly seek ourselves, even when we 
flatter ourselves that God is our only aim, and whilst we 
undertake to convert the world, we suffer it to pervert us. 
When shall we begin to study to crucify our passions and die 
to ourselves, that we may lay a solid foundation of true virtue 
and establish its reign in our hearts? 

FEBRUARY 19.— ST. BARBATUS, BISHOP. 



St. Barbatus was born in the territory of Benevento, in 
Italy, toward the end of the pontificate of St. Gregory the 
Great, in the beginning of the seventh century. His parents 




gave him a Christian education, and Barbatus in his youth 
laid the foundation of that eminent sanctity which recom- 
mends him to our veneration. The innocence, simplicity, 
and purity of his manners, and extraordinary progress in all 



1 IO 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [February 19. 



virtues, qualified him for the service of the altar, to which he 
was assumed by taking holy orders as soon as the canons of 
the Church would allow it. He was immediately employed 
by his bishop in preaching, for which he had an extraordinary 
talent, and, after some time, made curate of St. Basil's, in 
Morcona, a town near Benevento. His parishioners were 
steeled in their irregularities, and they treated him as a dis- 
turber of their peace, and persecuted him with the utmost 
violence. Finding their malice conquered by his patience 
and humility, and his character shining still more bright, they 
had recourse to slanders, in which, such was their virulence 
and success, that he was obliged to withdraw his charitable 
endeavors among them. Barbatus returned to Benevento, 
where he was received with joy. When St. Barbatus entered 
upon his ministry in that city, the Christians themselves re- 
tained many idolatrous superstitions, which even their duke, 
or Prince Romuald, authorized by his example, though son 
of Grimoald, King of the Lombards, who had edified all Italy 
by his conversion. They expressed a religious veneration 
to a golden viper, and prostrated themselves before it; they 
paid also a superstitious honor to a tree, on which they hung 
the skin of a wild beast ; and these ceremonies were closed 
by public games, in which the skin served for a mark at 
which bowmen shot arrows over their shoulders. St. Bar- 
batus preached zealously against these abuses, and at length 
he roused their attention, by foretelling the distress of their 
city, and the calamities which it was to suffer from the army 
of the Emperor Constans, who, landing soon after in Italy, 
laid siege to Benevento. Ildebrand, bishop of Benevento, 
dying during the siege, after the public tranquillity was re- 
stored, St. Barbatus was consecrated bishop on the 10th of 
March, 663. Barbatus, being invested with the episcopal 
character, pursued and completed the good work which he 
had so happily begun, and destroyed every trace of super- 
stition in the whole state. In the year 680 he assisted in a 
council held by Pope Agatho, at Rome, and the year follow- 
ing in the sixth general council held at Constantinople 
against the Monothelites. He did not long survive this 
great assembly, for he died on the 29th of February, 682, 



February 20.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



Ill 



being about seventy years old, almost nineteen of which he 
had spent in the episcopal chair. 

Reflection. — St. Augustine says : " When the enemy 
has been cast out of your hearts, renounce him, not only 
in word, but in work; not only by the sound of the lips, but 
in every act of your life." 

FEBRUARY 20.— ST. EUCHERIUS, BISHOP. 

This Saint was born at Orleans of a very illustrious 
family. At his birth his parents dedicated him to God, and 
set him to study when he was but seven years old, resolving 
to omit nothing that could be done toward cultivating his 




mind or forming his heart. His improvement in virtue kept 
pace with his progress in learning: he meditated assiduously 
on the sacred writings, especially on St. Paul's manner of 
speaking on the world and its enjoyments, as mere empty 
shadows that deceive us and vanish away. These reflections 
at length sank so deep into his mind that he resolved to quit 
the world. To put this design in execution, about the year 



112 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 21. 



714, he retired to the abbey of Jumiege, in Normandy, where 
he spent six or seven years in the practice of penitential 
austerities and obedience. Suavaric, his uncle, bishop of 
Orleans, having died, the senate and people, with the clergy 
of that city, begged permission to elect Eucherius to the 
vacant see. The Saint entreated his monks to screen him 
from the dangers that threatened him. But they preferred 
the public good to their private inclinations, and resigned 
him up for that important charge. He was consecrated with 
universal applause in 721. Charles Martel, to defray the ex- 
penses of the wars and other undertakings, often stripped the 
churches of their revenues. St. Eucherius reproved these en- 
croachments with so much zeal, that, in the year 737, Charles 
banished him to Cologne. The extraordinary esteem which 
his virtue procured him in that city, moved Charles to order 
him to be conveyed thence to a strong place in the territory 
of Liege. Robert, the governor of that country, was so 
charmed with his virtue, that he made him the distributer 
of his large alms, and allowed him to retire to the monastery 
of Sarchinium, or St. Tron's. Here prayer and contempla- 
tion were his whole employment till the year 743, in which he 
died on the 20th February. 

Reflection. — Nothing softens the soul and weakens 
piety so much as frivolous indulgence. God has revealed 
what high store He sets by " retirement " in these words: " I 
will lead her into solitude, and I will speak to her heart." 

FEBRUARY 21.— ST. SEVERIANUS, MARTYR, BISHOP. 

In the reign of Marcian and St. Pulcheria, the council of 
Chalcedon, which condemned the Eutychian heresy, was 
received by St. Euthymius, and by a great part of the monks 
of Palestine. But Theodosius, an ignorant Eutychian monk, 
and a man of a most tyrannical temper, under the protection 
of the empress Eudoxia, widow of Theodosius the Younger, 
who lived at Jerusalem, perverted many among the monks 
themselves, and having obliged Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem, 
to withdraw, unjustly possessed himself of that important 



February 21.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



see, and in a cruel persecution which he raised, filled 
Jerusalem with blood; then, at the head of a band of soldiers, 
he carried desolation over the country. Many, however, 
had the courage to stand their ground. No one resisted 
him with greater zeal and resolution than Severianus, bishop 
of Scythopolis, and his recompense was the crown of mar- 




tyrdom; for the furious soldiers seized his person, dragged 
him out of the city, and massacred him in the latter part of 
the year 452, or in the beginning of the year 453. 



Reflection. — With what floods of tears can we suffi- 
ciently bewail so grievous a misfortune, and implore the 
divine mercy in behalf of so many souls! How ought we to 
be alarmed at the consideration of so many dreadful exam- 
ples of God's inscrutable judgments, and tremble for our- 
selves! " Let him who stands beware lest he fall. Hold fast 
what thou hast," says the oracle of the Holy Ghost to every 
one of us, " lest another bear away thy crown." 



Ii 4 



TJVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 22. 



FEBRUARY 22.— ST, PETER'S CHAIR AT ANTIOCH. 

That Saint Peter, before he went to Rome, founded the 
see of Antioch is attested by many Saints. It was just that 
the Prince of the Apostles should take this city under his 
particular care and inspection, which was then the capital of 
the East, and in which the faith took so early and so deep 
root as to give birth in it to the name of Christians. St. 




Chrysostom says that St. Peter made there a long stay: St. 

Gregory the Great, that he was seven years bishop of An- 
tioch; not that he resided there all the time, but only that 
he had a particular care over that Church. If he sat twenty- 
five years at Rome, the date of his establishing his chair at 
Antioch must be within three years after Our Saviour's 
Ascension; for in that supposition he must have gone to 
Rome in the second year of Claudius. In the first ages it 
was customary, especially in the East, for every Christian to 
keep the anniversary of his baptism, on which he renewed 
his baptismal vows, and gave thanks to God for his heavenly 
adoption: this they called their spiritual birthday. The 
bishops in like manner kept the anniversary of their own 



February 23.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



115 



consecration, as appears from four sermons of St. Leo on 
the anniversary of his accession or assumption to the pontifi- 
cal dignity; and this was frequently continued after their 
decease by the people, out of respect to their memory. St. 
Leo says, we ought to celebrate the Chair of St. Peter with 
no less joy than the day of his martyrdom; for as in this he 
was exalted to a throne of glory in heaven, so by the former 
he was installed Head of the Church on earth. 

Reflection. — On this festival we are especially bound 
to adore and thank the Divine Goodness for the establish- 
ment and propagation of His Church, and earnestly to pray 
that in His mercy He preserve the same, and dilate its pale, 
that His name may be glorified by all nations, and by all 
hearts, to the boundaries of the earth, for His divine honor 
and the salvation of souls, framed to His divine image, and 
the price of His adorable blood. 

FEBRUARY 23. — ST. PETER DAMIAN. 

St. Peter Damian was born in 988, and lost both parents 
at an early age. His eldest brother, in whose hands he was 
left, treated him so cruelly that a younger brother, a priest, 
moved by his piteous state, sent him to the university of 
Parma, where he acquired great distinction. His studies 
were sanctified by vigils, fasts, and prayers, till at last, think- 
ing that all this was only serving God by halves, he resolved 
to leave the world. He joined the monks of Font-Avellano, 
then in the greatest repute, and by his wisdom and sanctity 
rose to be Superior. He was employed on the most delicate 
and difficult missions, amongst others, the reform of ecclesi- 
astical communities, which was effected by his zeal. Seven 
Popes in succession made him their constant adviser, and he 
was at last created Cardinal Bishop of Ostia. He withstood 
Henry IV. of Germany, and labored in defence of Alexander 
II. against the Antipope, whom he forced to yield and seek 
for pardon. He was charged, as Papal Legate, with the 
repression of simony; again was commissioned to settle dis- 
cords amongst various bishops; and finally, in 1072, to adjust 



n6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 23. 



the affairs of the Church at Ravenna. He was laid low by 
a fever on his homeward journey, and died at Faenza, in a 
monastery of his order, on the eighth day of his sickness, 
whilst the monks chanted matins around him. 

Reflection. — The Saints studied, not in order to be 
accounted learned, but to become perfect. This only is wis- 
dom and true greatness, to account ourselves as ignorant, 
and to adhere in all things to the teachings and instincts of 
the Church. 

ST, SERENUS, A GARDENER, MARTYR. 

Serenus was by birth a Grecian. He quitted estate, 
friends, and country to serve God in celibacy, penance, and 
prayer. With this design he bought a garden in Sirmium, 
in Pannonia, which he cultivated with his own hands, and 




lived on the fruits and herbs it produced. One day there 

came thither a woman, with her two daughters. Serenus, 
seeing them come up, advised them to withdraw, and to con- 
duct themselves in future as decency required in persons of 



February 23.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



Ii; 



their sex and condition. The woman, stung at our Saint's 
charitable remonstrance, retired in confusion, but resolved 
on revenging the supposed affront. She accordingly wrote 
to her husband that Serenus had insulted her. He, on re- 
ceiving her letter, went to the emperor to demand justice, 
whereupon the emperor gave him a letter to the governor 
of the province to enable him to obtain satisfaction. The 
governor ordered Serenus to be immediately brought before 
him. Serenus, on hearing the charge, answered, " I remem- 
ber that, some time ago, a lady came into my garden at ari 
unseasonable hour, and I own I took the liberty to tell her 
it was against decency for one of her sex and quality to be 
abroad at such an hour." This plea of Serenus having put 
the officer to the blush for his wife's conduct, he dropped his 
prosecution. But the governor, suspecting by this answer 
that Serenus might be a Christian, began to question him, 
saying, " Who are you, and what is your religion? " Serenus, 
without hesitating one moment, answered, " I am a Chris- 
tian. It seemed a while ago as if God rejected me as a stone 
unfit to enter His building, but He has the goodness to take 
me now to be placed in it; I am ready to suffer all things for 
His name, that I may have a part in His kingdom with His 
Saints." The governor, hearing this, burst into rage, and 
said, " Since you sought to elude by flight the emperor's 
edicts, and have positively refused to sacrifice to the gods, I 
condemn you for these crimes to lose your head." The sen- 
tence was no sooner pronounced than the Saint was carried 
off and beheaded, on the 23d of February, in 307. 

Reflection. — The garden affords a beautiful emblem of 
a Christian's continual progress in the path of virtue. Plants 
always mount upwards, and never stop in their growth till 
they have attained to that maturity which the Author of na- 
ture has prescribed. So in a Christian, every thing ought to 
carry him toward that perfection which the sanctity of his 
state requires; and every desire of his soul, every action of 
his life, should be a step advancing to this in a direct line. 



Ii8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 24, 



FEBRUARY 24.— ST. MATTHIAS, APOSTLE. 

After our Blessed Lord's ascension His disciples met 
together, with Mary His mother, and the eleven apostles, in 
an upper room at Jerusalem. The little company numbered 
no more than one hundred and twenty souls. They were 
waiting for the promised coming of the Holy Ghost, and they 
persevered in prayer. Meanwhile there was a solemn act 
to be performed on the part of the Church, which could not 
be postponed. The place of the fallen Judas must be filled 




up, that the elect number of the apostles might be complete. 
St. Peter, therefore, as Vicar of Christ, arose to announce 
the divine decree. That which the Holy Ghost had spoken 
by the mouth of David concerning Judas, he said, must be 
fulfilled. Of him it had been written, " His bishopric let 
another take." A choice, therefore, was to be made of one 
among those who had been their companions from the begin- 
ning, who could bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus. 
Two were named of equal merit, Joseph called Barsabas, and 



February 2 5. J LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



119 



Matthias. Then, after praying to God, who knows the 
hearts of all men, to show which of these He had chosen, 
they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, who was forth- 
with numbered with the apostles. It is recorded of the Saint, 
thus wonderfully elected to so high a vocation, that he was 
above all remarkable for his mortification of the flesh. It 
was thus he made his election sure. 

Reflection. — Our ignorance of many points in St. Mat- 
thias's life serves to fix the attention all the more firmly 
upon these two— the occasion of his call to the apostolate, • 
and the fact of his perseverance. We then naturally turn in 
thought to our own vocation and our own end. 

FEBRUARY 25.— ST. TARASIUS. 

Tarasius was born at Constantinople about the middle 
of the eighth century, of a noble family. His mother, Eucra- 
tia, brought him up in the practice of the most eminent vir- 
tues. By his talents and virtue he gained the esteem of all, 
and was raised to the greatest honors of the empire, being 
made consul, and afterward first secretary of state to the 
Emperor Constantine and the Empress Irene, his mother. 
In the midst of the court, and in its highest honors, he led 
a life like that of a religious man. Paul, Patriarch of Con- 
stantinople, the third of that name, though he had conformed 
in some respects to the then reigning heresy, had several 
good qualities ; and was not only beloved by the people for 
his charity to the poor, but highly esteemed by the whole 
court for his great prudence. Touched with remorse, he 
quitted the patriarchal see, and put on a religious habit in 
the monastery of Florus, in Constantinople. Tarasius was 
chosen to succeed him b} the unanimous consent of the 
court, clergy, and people. Finding it in vain to oppose his 
election, he declared that he could not in conscience accept 
of the government of a see which had been cut off from the 
Catholic communion, except on condition that a general 
council should be called to compose the disputes which 



120 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 25. 



divided the Church at that time in relation to holy images. 
This being agreed to, he was solemnly declared patriarch, 
and consecrated soon after, on Christmas day. The council 
was opened on the 1st of August, in the church of the 
Apostles at Constantinople, in 786. But being disturbed by 
the violences of the Iconoclasts, it adjourned and met again 
the year following in the church of St. Sophia, at Nice. The 
council having declared the sense of the Church, in relation 
to the matter in debate, which was found to be the allowing 




to holy pictures and images a relative honor, was closed with 
the usual acclamations and prayers for the prosperity of the 
Emperor and Empress. After which, synodal letters were 
sent to all the churches, and in particular to the Pope, who 
approved the council. The life of this holy patriarch was a 
model of perfection to his clergy and people. His table con- 
tained barely the necessaries of life, he allowed himself very 
little time for sleep, being always up the first and last in his 
family. Reading and prayer filled all his leisure hours. The 
Emperor having become enamoured of Theodota, a maid of 



February 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



121 



honor to his wife, the Empress Mary, was resolved to divorce 
the latter. He used all his efforts to gain the patriarch over 
to his desires, but St. Tarasius resolutely refused to coun- 
tenance the iniquity. The holy man gave up his soul to God 
in peace, on the 25th of February, 806, after having sat 
twenty-one years and two months. 

Reflection. — The highest praise which Scripture pro- 
nounces on the holy man Job is comprised in these words, 
" He was simple and upright." 



FEBRUARY 26. — ST. PORPHYRY, BISHOP. 

At the age of twenty-five, Porphyry, a rich citizen of 
Thessalonica, left the world for one of the great religious 




houses in the desert of Scete. Here he remained five years, 
and then finding himself drawn to a more solitary life passed 
into Palestine, where he spent a similar period in the severest 
penance, till ill health obliged him to moderate his austeri- 



122 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 26. 



ties. He then made his home in Jerusalem, and in spite of 
his ailments visited the Holy Places every day; thinking, 
says his biographer, so little of his sickness, that he seemed 
to be afflicted in another body, and not his own. About this 
time God put it into his heart to sell all he had and give to 
the poor, and then in reward of the sacrifice restored him by 
a miracle to perfect health. In 393 he was ordained priest, 
and intrusted with the care of the relics of the True Cross; 
three years later, in spite of all the resistance his humility 
could make, he was consecrated Bishop of Gaza. That city 
was a hot-bed of paganism, and Porphyry found in it an 
ample scope for his apostolic zeal. His labors and the 
miracles which attended them effected the conversion of 
many; and an imperial edict for the destruction of the 
temples, obtained through the influence of St. John Chrysos- 
tom, greatly strengthened his hands. When St. Porphyry 
first went to Gaza, he found there one temple more splendid 
than the rest, in honor of the chief god. When the edict 
went forth to destroy all traces of heathen worship, St. Por- 
phyry determined to put Satan to special shame where he 
had received special honor. A Christian church was built 
upon the site, and its approach was paved with the marbles 
of the heathen temple. Thus every worshipper of Jesus 
Christ trod the relics of idolatry and superstition under foot 
each time he went to assist at the Holy Mass. He lived to 
see his diocese for the most part clear of idolatry, and died 
a.d. 420. 

Reflection. — All superstitious searching into secret 
things is forbidden by the first commandment, equally with 
the worship of any false god. Let us ask St. Porphyry for a 
great zeal in keeping this commandment, lest we be led away, 
as so many are, by a curious and prying mind. 



February 27.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



123 



FEBRUARY 27.— ST. LEANDER, BISHOP. 

St. Leander was born of an illustrious family at Cartha- 
gena, in Spain. He was the eldest of five brothers, several 
of whom are numbered among- the Saints. He entered into 
a monastery very young, where he lived many years and at- 
tained to an eminent degree of virtue and sacred learning. 
These qualities occasioned his being promoted to the see of 




Seville ; but his change of condition made little or no altera- 
tion in his method of life, though it brought on him a great 
increase of care and solicitude. Spain at that time was in 
possession of the Visigoths. These Goths being infected 
with Arianism, established this heresy wherever they came ; 
so that when St. Leander was made bishop, it had reigned in 
Spain a hundred years. This was his great affliction ; how- 
ever by his prayers to God, and by his most zealous and un- 
wearied endeavors, he became the happy instrument of the 
conversion of that nation to the Catholic faith. Having con- 
verted, among others, Hermenegild, the king's eldest son 



124 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[February 28. 



and heir apparent, Leander was banished by King Leovigild. 
This pious prince was put to death by his unnatural father, 
the year following, for refusing to receive communion from 
the hands of an Arian bishop. But, touched with remorse 
not long after, the king recalled our Saint; and falling sick 
and finding himself past hopes of recovery, he sent for St. 
Leander, and recommended to him his son Recared. This 
son, by listening to St. Leander, soon became a Catholic, 
and finally converted the whole nation of the Visigoths. He 
was no less successful with respect to the Suevi, a people of 
Spain, whom his father Leovigild had perverted. 

St. Leander was no less zealous in the reformation of 
manners than in restoring the purity of faith ; and he planted 
the seeds of that zeal and fervor which afterward produced 
so many Martyrs and Saints. This holy doctor of Spain died 
about the year 596, on the 27th of February, as Mabillon 
proves from his epitaph. The Church of Seville has been a 
metropolitan see ever since the third century. The cathe- 
dral is the most magnificent, both as to structure and orna- 
ment, of any in all Spain. 

FEBRUARY 28.— SS. ROMANUS AND LUPICINUS, ABBOTS. 

Romanus at thirty-five years of age left his relations and 
spent some time in the monastery of Ainay, at Lyons, at 
the great church at the conflux of the Saone and Rhone 
which the faithful had built over the ashes of the famous 
martyrs of that city; for their bodies being burnt by the 
pagans, their ashes were thrown into the Rhone, but a great 
part of them was gathered by the Christians and deposited in 
this place. Romanus a short time after retired into the 
forests of Mount Jura, between France and Switzerland, and 
fixed his abode at a place called Condate, at the conflux of 
the rivers Bienne and Aliere, where he found a spot of ground 
fit for culture, and some trees which furnished him with a kind 
of wild fruit. Here he spent his time in praying, reading, 
and laboring for his subsistence. Lupicinus his brother 
came to him some time after in company with others, who 



February 28.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



125 



were followed by several more, drawn by the fame of the 
virtue and miracles of these two Saints. Their numbers in- 
creasing they built several monasteries, and a nunnery called 
La Beaume, which no men were allowed ever to enter, and 
where St. Romanus chose his burial-place. The brothers 
governed the monks jointly and in great harmony, though 
Lupicinus was more inclined to severity of the two. Lupi- 
cinus used no other bed than a chair or a hard board ; never 
touched wine, and would scarce ever suffer a drop either of 




oil or milk to be poured on his pottage. In summer his sub- 
sistence for many years was only hard bread moistened in 
cold water, so that he could eat it with a spoon. His tunic 
was made of various skins of beasts sewn together, with a 
cowl : he used wooden shoes, and wore no stockings unless 
when he was obliged to go out of the monastery. St. 
Romanus died about the year 460, and St. Lupicinus survived 
him almost twenty years. 



126 



A.IVES OF THE SAINTS. [February 29. 



FEBRUARY 29. — ST. OSWALD, BISHOP. 



Oswald was of a noble Saxon family, and was endowed 
with a very rare and beautiful form of body and with a sin- 
gular piety of soul. He was brought up by his uncle, St. Odo, 
Archbishop of Canterbury, and was chosen, while still young, 
dean of the secular canons of Winchester, then very relaxed. 
His attempt to reform them was a failure; and he saw, with 
that infallible instinct which so often guides the Saints in 
critical times, that the true remedy for the corruptions of the 
clergy was the restoration of the monastic life. He there- 
fore went to France, and took the habit of St. Benedict; but 
returned only to receive the news of Odo's death. He found, 
however, a new patron in St. Dunstan, now Metropolitan, 
through whose influence he was nominated to the see of 
Worcester. To these two Saints, together with Ethelwold 
of Winchester, the monastic revival of the tenth century is 
mainly due. Oswald's first care was to deprive of their 
benefices the disorderly clerics, whom he replaced as far as 
possible by regulars, and himself founded seven religious 
houses. Considering that in the hearts of the secular canons 
there were yet some sparks of virtue, he would not at once 
expel them, but rather entrapped them by a holy artifice. 
Adjoining the cathedral he built a church in honor of the 
Mother of God, causing it to be served by a body of strict 
religious. He himself assisted at the Divine Office in this 
church, and his example was followed by the people. The 
canons finding themselves isolated, and their cathedral 
deserted, chose rather to embrace the religious life than to 
continue not only to injure their own souls, but to be a 
mockery to their people by reason of the contrast offered by 
their worldliness to the regularity of their religious brethren. 
As Archbishop of York a like success attended St. Oswald's 
efforts ; and God manifested His approval of his zeal by dis- 
covering to him the relics of his great predecessor, St. Wil- 
frid, which he reverently translated to Worcester. He died 
February 29th, 992. 



March i.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



127 



Reflection. — A soul without discipline is like a ship 
without a helm ; she must inevitably strike unawares upon 
the rocks, founder on the shoals, or float unknowingly into 
the harbor of the enemy. 



MARCH 1.— ST. DAVID, BISHOP. 

St. David, son of Sant, prince of Cardigan and of Non, 
was born in that country in the fifth century, and from his 
earliest years gave himself wholly to the service of God. He 
began his religious life under St. Paulinus, a disciple of St. 
Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, who had been sent to Britain 
by Pope St. Celestine to stop the ravages of the heresy of 
Pelagius, at that time abbot, as it is said, of Bangor. On the 
reappearance of that heresy, in the beginning of the sixth 
century, the bishops assembled at Brevi, and, unable to 
address the people that came to hear the word of truth, sent 
for St. David from his cell to preach to them. The Saint 
came, and it is related that, as he preached, the ground be- 
neath his feet rose and became a hill, so that he was heard 
by an innumerable crowd. The heresy fell under the sword 
of the Spirit, and the Saint was elected Bishop of Caerleon 
on the resignation of St. Dubricius; but he removed the see 
to Menevia, a lone and desert spot, where he might with his 
monks serve God away from the noise of the world. He 
founded twelve monasteries, and governed his Church ac- 
cording to the canons sanctioned in Rome. At last, when 
about eighty years of age, he laid himself down, knowing 
that his hour was come. As his agony closed, Our Lord 
stood before him in a vision, and the Saint cried out, " Take 
me up with Thee," and so gave up his soul on Tuesday, 
March 1st, 561. 



128 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March j. 



ST. ALBINUS, BISHOP. 

St. Albinus was of an ancient and noble family in Brit- 
tany, and from his childhood was fervent in every exercise of 
piety. He ardently sighed after the happiness which a 
devout soul finds in being perfectly disengaged from all 




earthly things. Having embraced the monastic state at Tin- 
tillant, near Angers, he shone a perfect model of virtue, living 
as if in all things he had been without any will of his own 
and his soul seemed so perfectly governed by the spirit of 
Christ as to live only for Him. At the age of thirty-five 
years he was chosen abbot, in 504, and twenty-five years 
afterward, bishop of Angers. He everywhere restored disci- 
pline, being inflamed with a holy zeal for the honor of God. 
His dignity seemed to make no alteration either in his mor- 
tifications or in the constant recollection of his soul. Hon- 
ored by all the world, even by kings, he was never affected 
with vanity. Powerful in works and miracles, he looked 
upon himself as the most unworthy and most unprofitable 



March 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



129 



among the servants of God, and had no other ambition than 
to appear such in the eyes of others as he was in those of his 
own humility. In the third council of Orleans, in 538, he 
procured the thirtieth canon of the council of Epaone to be 
revived, by which those are declared excommunicated wha 
presume to contract incestuous marriages in the first or sec- 
ond degree of consanguinity or affinity. He died on the 1st 
of March, in 549. 

Reflection. — With whatever virtues a man may be en- 
dowed, he will discover, if he considers himself attentively* 
a sufficient depth of misery to afford cause for deep humility; 
but Jesus Christ says, " He that humbleth himself shall be 
exalted." 



MARCH 2.— ST. SIMPLICIUS, POPE. 

St. Simplicius was the ornament of the Roman clergy 
under SS. Leo and Hilarius, and succeeded the latter in the 
pontificate in 497. He was raised by God to comfort and 
support His Church amidst the greatest storms. All the 
provinces of the Western Empire, out of Italy, were fallen 
into the hands of barbarians. The emperors for many years 
were rather shadows of power than sovereigns, and in the 
eighth year of the pontificate of Simplicius, Rome itself fell 
a prey to foreigners. Italy, by oppressions and the ravages 
of barbarians, was left almost a desert without inhabitants; 
and the imperial armies consisted chiefly of barbarians, hired 
under the name of auxiliaries. These soon saw their mas- 
ters were in their power. The Heruli demanded one-third 
of the lands of Italy, and, upon refusal, chose for their leader 
Odoacer, one of the lowest extraction, but a resolute and 
intrepid man, who was proclaimed king at Rome in 476. He 
put to death Orestes, who was regent of the empire for his 
son Augustulus, whom the senate had advanced to the impe- 
rial throne. Odoacer spared the life of Augustulus, and 
appointed him a salary of six thousand pounds of gold, and 
permitted him to live at full liberty near Naples. Pope Sim- 
plicius was wholly taken up in comforting and relieving the 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[Maro: 2,, 



afflicted, and in sowing the seeds of the Catholic faith among 
the barbarians. The East gave his zeal no less employment 
and concern. Peter Cnapheus, a violent Eutychian, was 
made by the heretics patriarch of Antioch; and Peter Mon- 
gus, one of the most profligate men, that of Alexandria. 
Acacius, the patriarch of Constantinople, received the sen- 
tence of St. Simplicius against Cnapheus, but supported 
Mongus against him and the Catholic Church, and was a 
notorious changeling, double-dealer, and artful hypocrite, 
who often made religion serve his own private ends. St. 




Simplicius at length discovered his artifices, and redoubled 
his zeal to maintain the holy faith, which he saw betrayed on 
every side, whilst the patriarchal sees of Alexandria and 
Antioch were occupied by furious wolves, and there was not 
one Catholic king in the whole world. The emperor meas- 
ured every thing by his passions and human views. St. Sim- 
plicius having sat fifteen years, eleven months, and six days, 
went to receive the reward of his labors, in 483. He was 
buried in St. Peter's on the ?A of March. 

Reflection. — " He that trusteth in God, shall fare never 
the worse," saith the Wise Man in the Book of Ecclesiasticus. 



March 3.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



131 



MARCH 3.— ST. CUNEGUNDES, EMPRESS. 

St. Cunegundes was the daughter of Sigefride, the first 
Count of Luxemburg, and Hadeswige, his pious wife. They 
instilled into her from her cradle the most tender sentiments 
of piety, and married her to St. Henry, Duke of Bavaria, who, 
upon the death of the Emperor Otho III., was chosen king of 




the Romans, and crowned on the 6th of June, 1002. She was 
crowned at Paderborn on St. Laurence's day. In the year 
1014 she went with her husband to Rome, and received the 
imperial crown with him from the hands of Pope Benedict 
VIII. She had, by St. Henry's consent before her marriage, 
made a vow of virginity. Calumniators afterward made vile 
accusations against her, and the holy empress, to remove the 
scandal of such a slander, trusting in God to prove her inno- 
cence, walked over red-hot ploughshares without being 
hurt. The emperor condemned his too scrupulous fears and 
credulity, and from that time they lived in the strictest union 
of hearts, conspiring to promote in every thing God's honor 
and the advancement of piety. 



132 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 3. 



Going once to make a retreat in Hesse, she fell danger- 
ously ill, and made a vow to found a monastery, if she re- 
covered, at Kaffungen, near Cassel, in the diocese of Pader- 
born, which she executed in a stately manner, and gave it to 
nuns of the Order of St. Benedict. Before it was finished St. 
Henry died, in 1024. She earnestly recommended his soul 
to the prayers of others, especially to her dear nuns, and ex- 
pressed her longing desire of joining them. She had already 
exhausted her treasures in founding bishoprics and monas- 
teries, and in relieving the poor, and she had therefore little 
now left to give. But still thirsting to embrace perfect evan- 
gelical poverty, and to renounce all to serve God without 
obstacle, she assembled a great number of prelates to the 
dedication of her church of Kaffungen on the anniversary 
day of her husband's death, 1025, and after the Gospel was 
sung at Mass, she offered on the altar a piece of the True 
Cross, and then putting off her imperial robes, clothed her- 
self with a poor habit: her hair was cut off, and the bishop 
put on her a veil, and a ring as a pledge of her fidelity to her 
heavenly spouse. After she was consecrated to God in 
religion, she seemed entirely to forget that she had been 
empress, and behaved as the last in the house, being per- 
suaded that she was so before God. She prayed and read 
much, worked with her hands, and took a singular pleasure 
in visiting and comforting the sick. Thus she passed the fif- 
teen last years of her life. Her mortifications at length re- 
duced her to a very weak condition, and brought on her last 
sickness. Perceiving they were preparing a cloth fringed 
with gold to cover her corpse after her death, she changed 
color and ordered it to be taken away; nor could she be at 
rest till she was promised she should be buried as a poor 
religious in her habit. She died on the 3d of March, 104O. 
Her body was carried to Bamberg, and buried near that of 
her husband. She was solemnly canonized by Innocent III. 
in 1200. 

Reflection. — Detachment of the mind, at least, is need- 
ful to those who cannot venture on an effectual renunciation. 
" So likewise every one of you," saith Jesus Christ, " that 



March 4.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 1 33 

doth not renounce all that he possesseth, cannot be My 
disciple." 

MARCH 4.— ST. CASIMIR, KING. 

Casimir, the second son of Casimir III., King of Poland, 
was born a.d. 1458. From the custody of a most virtuous 
mother, Elizabeth of Austria, he passed to the guardianship 
of a devoted master, the learned and pious John Dugloss. 




Thus animated from his earliest years by precept and 
example, his innocence and piety soon ripened into the prac- 
tice of heroic virtue. At the age of twenty-five, sick of a 
lingering illness, he foretold the hour of his death, and chose 
to die a virgin rather than take the life and health which the 
doctors held out to him in the married state. In an atmos- 
phere of luxury and magnificence the young prince had 
fasted, worn a hair shirt, slept upon the bare earth, prayed 
by night, and watched for the opening of the church doors 
at dawn. He had become so tenderly devoted to the Pas- 
sion of Our Lord, that at Mass he seemed quite rapt out of 



134 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 5. 



himself, and his charity to the poor and afflicted knew no 
bounds. His love for our Blessed Lady he expressed in a 
long and beautiful hymn, familiar to us in our own tongue. 
The miracles wrought by his body after death fill a volume. 
The blind saw, the lame walked, the sick were healed, a dead 
girl was raised to life. And once the Saint in glory led his 
countrymen to battle, and delivered them by a glorious 
victory from the schismatic Russian hosts. 

One hundred and twenty-two years after his death the 
Saint's tomb in the cathedral of Vienna was opened, that 
the holy body might be transferred to the rich marble chapel 
where it now lies. The place was damp, and the very vault 
crumbled away in the hands of the workmen ; yet the Saint's 
body, wrapt in robes of silk, was found whole and incorrupt, 
and emitted a sweet fragrance, which filled the church and 
refreshed all who were present. Under his head was found 
his hymn to Our Lady, which he had had buried with him. 
The following night three young men saw a brilliant light 
issuing from the open tomb and streaming through the 
windows of the chapel. 

Reflection. — Let the study of St. Casimir's life make 
us increase in devotion to the most pure Mother of God, a 
sure means of preserving holy purity. 



MARCH 5.— SS. ADRIAN AND EUBULUS, MARTYRS. 

In the seventh year of Diocletian's persecution, con- 
tinued by Galerius Maximianus, when Firmilian, the most 
bloody governor of Palestine, had stained Caesarea with the 
blood of many illustrious martyrs, Adrian and Eubulus 
came out of the country called Magantia, to Caesarea, i 
order to visit the holy confessors there. At the gates of th 
city they were asked, as others were, whither they wer 
going, and upon what errand? They ingenuously confesse 
the truth, and were brought before the president, wh 
ordered them to be tortured, and their sides to be torn wit 
iron hooks, and then condemned them to be exposed to wil 



March 5.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



135 



beasts. Two days after, when the pagans at Caesarea cele- 
brated the festival of the public Genius, Adrian was exposed 
to a lion, and not being despatched by that beast, but only 
mangled, was at length killed by the sword. Eubulus was 
treated in the same manner two days later. The judge 
offered him his liberty if he would sacrifice to idols ; but the 
Saint preferred a glorious death, and was the last that 
suffered in this persecution at Caesarea, which had now con- 




tinued twelve years under three successive governors, 
Flavian, Urban, and Firmilian. Divine vengeance pursuing 
the cruel Firmilian, he was that same year beheaded for his 
crimes, by the emperor's order, as his predecessor Urban had 
been two years before. 

Reflection. — It is in vain that we take the name of 
Christians, or pretend to follow Christ, unless we carry our 
crosses after Him. It is in vain that we hope to share in 
His glory, and in His kingdom, if we accept not the condi- 
tion. We cannot arrive at heaven by any other road but 
that which Christ held, who bequeathed His cross to all His 
elect as their portion and inheritance in this world- 



156 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [March 6. 



MARCH 6 ST. COLETTE, VIRGIN. 

After a holy childhood, Colette joined a society of 
devout women called the Beguines; but not finding their 
state sufficiently austere, she entered the Third Order of St. 
Francis, and lived in a hut near her parish church of Corbie 




in Picardy. Here she had passed four years of extraordinary 
penance, when St. Francis, in a vision, bade her undertake 
the reform of her Order, then much relaxed. Armed with 
due authority, she established her reform throughout a large 
part of Europe, and, in spite of the most violent opposition, 
founded seventeen convents of the strict observance. By 
the same wonderful prudence she assisted in healing the 
great schism which then afflicted the Church. The fathers 
in council at Constance were in doubt how to deal with the 
three claimants to the tiara — John XXIII., Benedict XIII. , 
and Gregory XII. At this crisis Colette, together with St. 
Vincent Ferrer, wrote to the fathers to depose Benedict 
XIII.. who alone refused his consent to a new election. This 



March 7. J 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



137 



was done, and Martin V. was elected, to the great good of 
the Church. Colette equally assisted the Council of Basle 
by her advice and prayers ; and when, later, God revealed to 
her the spirit of revolt that was rising, she warned the bishops 
and legates to retire from the Council. St. Colette never 
ceased to pray for the Church, while the devils, in turn, never 
ceased to assault her. They swarmed round her as hideous 
insects, buzzing and stinging her tender skin. They brought 
into her cell the decaying corpses of public criminals, and 
assuming themselves monstrous forms struck her savage 
blows; or they would appear in the most seductive guise, a::d 
tempt her by many deceits to sin. St. Colette once com- 
plained to Our Lord that the demons prevented her from 
praying. " Cease, then," said the devil to her, " your 
prayers to the great Master of the Church, and we will cease 
to torment you; for you torment us more by your prayers 
than we do you." Yet the virgin of Christ triumphed alike 
over their threats and allurements, and said she would count 
that day the unhappiest of her life in which she suffered 
nothing for her God. She died March 6th, 1447, in a trans- 
port of intercession for sinners and the Church. 

Reflection. — One of the greatest tests of being a good 
Catholic is zeal for the Church and devotion to Christ's 
Vicar. 

MARCH 7.— ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. 

St. Thomas was born of noble parents at Aquino, in 
Italy, a.d. 1226. At the age of nineteen he received the 
Dominican habit at Naples, where he was studying. Seized 
by his brothers on his way to Paris, he suffered a two years' 
captivity in their castle of Rocca-Secca ; but neither the 
caresses of his mother and sisters, nor the threats and strata- 
gems of his brothers, could shake him in his vocation. While 
St. Thomas was in confinement at Rocca-Secca, his brothers 
endeavored to entrap him into sin, but the attempt only 
ended in the triumph of his purity. Snatching from the 
hearth a burning brand, the Saint drove from his chamber 



138 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March y 0 



the wretched creature whom they had there concealed. 
Then marking a cross upon the wall, he knelt down to pray, 
and forthwith, being rapt in ecstasy, an angel girded him 
with a cord, in token of the gift of perpetual chastity which 
God had given him. The pain caused by the girdle was so 
sharp that St. Thomas uttered a piercing cry, which brought 
his guards into the room. But he never told this grace to. 
any one save only to Father Raynald, his confessor, a little 




while before his death. Hence originated the Confraternity 
of the " Angelic Warfare," for the preservation of the virtue 
of chastity. Having at length escaped, St. Thomas went to 
Cologne to study under Blessed Albert the Great, and after 
that to Paris, where for many years he taught philosophy 
and theology. The Church has ever venerated his numer- 
ous writings as a treasure-house of sacred doctrine; while in 
naming him the Angelic Doctor, she has indicated that his 
science is more divine than human. The rarest gifts of intel- 
lect were combined in him with the tenderest piety. Prayer, 
he said, had taught him, more than study. His singular 
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament shines forth in the Office 



March 8.] 



iJVES OF THE SAINTS. 



139 



and hymns for Corpus Christi, which he composed. To the 
words miraculously uttered by a crucifix at Naples, " Well 
hast thou written concerning Me, Thomas; what shall I give 
thee as a reward? " he replied, " Naught save Thyself, O 
Lord." He died at Fossa-Nuova, a.d. 1274, on his way to 
the General Council of Lyons, to which Pope Gregory X. 
had summoned him. 

Reflection. — The knowledge of God is for all, but hid- 
den treasures are reserved for those who have ever followed 
the Lamb. 



MARCH 8.— ST. JOHN OF GOD 



Nothing in John's early life foreshadowed his future 
sanctity. He ran away as a boy from his home in Portugal, 




tended sheep and cattle in Spain, and served as a soldier 
against the French, and afterwards against the Turks. 
When about forty years of age, feeling remorse for his wild 
life, he resolved to devote himself to the ransom of the Chris- 
tian slaves in Africa, and went thither with the family of an 



I4-0 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 8. 



exiled noble, which he maintained by his labor. On his 
return to Spain he sought to do good by selling holy pic- 
tures and books at low prices. At length the hour of grace 
struck. At Granada, a sermon, by the celebrated John of 
Avila, shook his soul to its depths, and his expressions of 
self-abhorrence were so extraordinary that he was taken to 
the asylum as one mad. There he employed himself in min- 
istering to the sick. On leaving he began to collect home- 
less poor, and to support them by his work and by begging. 
One night, St. John found in the streets a poor man who 
seemed near death, and, as was his wont, he carried him to 
the hospital, laid him on a bed, and went to fetch water to 
wash his feet. When he had washed them, he knelt to kiss 
them, and started with awe; the feet were pierced, and the 
print of the nails bright with an unearthly radiance. He 
raised his eyes to look, and heard the words, " John, to Me 
thou doest all that thou doest to the poor in My name; I 
reach forth My hand for the alms thou givest; Me dost thou 
clothe, Mine are the feet thou dost wash." And then the 
gracious vision disappeared, leaving St. John filled at once 
with confusion and consolation. The bishop became the 
Saint's patron, and gave him the name of John of God. 
When his hospital was on fire, John was seen rushing about 
uninjured amidst the flames until he had rescued all his poor. 
After ten years spent in the service of the suffering, the 
Saint's life was fitly closed. He plunged into the river Xenil 
to save a drowning boy, and died a.d. 1550 of an illness 
brought on by the attempt, at the age of fifty-five. 

Reflection. — God often rewards men for works that 
are pleasing in His sight by giving them grace and oppor- 
tunity to do other works higher still. St. John of God used 
to attribute his conversion, and the graces which enabled 
him to do such great works, to his self-denying charity in 
Africa. 



March 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



MARCH 9. — ST. FRANCES OF ROME. 

Frances was born at Rome in 1384. Her parents were 
of high rank. They overruled her desire to become a nun, 
and at twelve years of age married her to Lorenzo Ponziano, 
a Roman noble. During the forty years of their married 
life they never had a disagreement. While spending her 




days in retirement and prayer, she attended promptly to 
every household duty, saying, "A married woman must leave 
God at the altar to find Him in her domestic cares;" and she 
once found the verse of a psalm in which she had been four 
times thus interrupted completed for her in letters of gold. 
Her ordinary food was dry bread. Secretly she would 
exchange with beggars good food for their hard crusts; her 
drink was water, and her cup a human skull. During the 
invasion of Rome, in 141 3, Ponziano was banished, his 
estates confiscated, his house destroyed, and his eldest son 
taken as a hostage. Frances saw in these losses only the 
finger of God, and blessed His holy name. When peace was 



142 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 10. 



restored Ponziano recovered his estates, and Frances 
founded the Oblates. After her husband's death, barefoot, 
and with a cord about her neck, she begged admission to 
the community, and was soon elected Superioress. She lived 
always in the presence of God, and amongst many visions 
was given constant sight of her angel guardian, who shed 
such a brightness around him that the Saint could read her 
midnight Office by this light alone. He shielded her in the 
hour of temptation, and directed her in every good act. 
But when she was betrayed into some defect, he faded from 
her sight; and when some light words were spoken before 
her, he covered his face in shame. She died on the day she 
had foretold, March 9th, 1440. 

Reflection. — God has appointed an angel to guard each 
one of us, to whose warnings we are bound to attend. 
Let us listen to his voice here, and we shall see him here- 
after, when he leads us before the throne of God. 



MARCH 10.— THE FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTE. 

The Forty Martyrs were soldiers quartered at Sebaste, 
in Armenia, about the year 320. When their legion was 
ordered to offer sacrifice they separated themselves from the 
rest, and formed a company of martyrs. After they had 
been torn by scourges and iron hooks they were chained 
together and led to a lingering death. It was a cruel win- 
ter, and they were condemned to lie naked on the icy surface 
of a pond in the open air till they were frozen to death. But 
they ran undismayed to the place of their combat, joyfully 
stripped off their garments, and with one voice besought 
God to keep their ranks unbroken. " Forty," they cried, 
" we have come to combat ; grant that forty may be 
crowned." There were warm baths hard by, ready for any 
one amongst them who would deny Christ. The soldier 
who watched saw angels descending with thirty-nine crowns, 
and while he wondered at the deficiency in the number, one 
of the confessors lost heart, renounced his faith, a':d, crawl- 



March io.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 143 



ing to the fire, died body and soul at the spot where he 
expected relief. Bat the soldier was inspired to confess 
Christ and take his place, and again the number of forty was 
complete. They remained steadfast while their limbs grew 
stiff and frozen, and died one by one. Among the Forty 
there was a young soldier who held out longest against the 
cold, and when the officers came to cart away the dead bod- 
ies they found him still breathing. They were moved with 




pity, and wanted to leave him alive, in the hope that he 
would still change his mind. But his mother stood by, and 
this valiant woman could not bear to see her son separated 
from the band of martyrs. She exhorted him to persevere, 
and lifted his frozen body into the cart. He was just able 
to make a sign of recognition, and was borne away, to be 
thrown into the flames with the dead bodies of his brethren. 

Reflection. — All who live the life of grace are one in 
Christ. But besides this there are many special ties — of 
religion, of community life, or at least of aspirations in 
prayer, and pious works. Thank God if He has bound you 



144 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March it. 



to others by these spiritual ties; remember the character you 
have to support, and pray that the bond which unites you 
here may last for eternity. 



MARCH ii.— ST. EULOGIUS, MARTYR. 



St. Eulogius was of a senatorial! family of Cordova, at 
that time the capital of the Moors in Spain. Our Saint was 
educated among the clergy of the church of St. Zoilus, a 




martyr who suffered with nineteen others under Dioclesian. 
Here he distinguished himself by his virtue and learning; 
and being made priest, was placed at the head of the chief 
ecclesiastical school at Cordova. He joined assiduous 
watching, fasting, and prayer to his studies, and his humility, 
mildness, and charity gained him the affection and respect of 
every one. During the persecution raised against the 
Christians in the year 850, St. Eulogius was thrown into 
prison and there wrote his Exhortation to Martyrdom, 
addressed to the virgins Flora and Mary, who were beheaded 
the 24th of November, 851. Six days after their death Eulo- 



March it.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



H5 



gius was set at liberty. In the year 852, several others suf- 
fered the like martyrdom. St. Eulogius encouraged all 
these martyrs to their triumphs, and was the support of that 
distressed flock. The Archbishop of Toledo dying in 858, 
St. Eulogius was elected to succeed him; but there was some 
obstacle that hindered him from being consecrated, though 
he did not outlive his election two months. A virgin, by 
name Leocritia, of a noble family among the Moors, had 
been instructed from her infancy in the Christian religion by 
one of her relations, and privately baptized. Her father and 
mother used her very ill, and scourged her day and night to 
compel her to renounce the faith. Having made her condi- 
tion known to St. Eulogius and his sister Anulona, intimat- 
ing that she desired to go where she might freely exercise 
her religion, they secretly procured her the means of getting 
away, and concealed her for some time among faithful 
friends. But the matter was at length discovered, and they 
were all brought before the cadi, who threatened to have 
Eulogius scourged to death. The Saint told him that his 
torments would be of no avail, for he would never change 
his religion. Whereupon the cadi gave orders that he 
should be carried to the palace, and presented before the 
king's council. Eulogius began boldly to propose the truths 
of the gospel to them. But to prevent their hearing him, 
the council condemned him immediately to lose his head. 
As they were leading him to execution, one of the guards 
gave him a blow on the face for having spoken against 
Mahomet; he turned the other cheek, and patiently received 
a second. He received the stroke of death with great cheer- 
fulness on the nth of March, 859. St. Leocritia was 
beheaded four days after him, and her body thrown into the 
river Guadalquivir, but taken out by the Christians. 

Reflection. — Beg of God, through the intercession of 
these holy martyrs, the gift of perseverance. Their example 
will supply you with an admirable rule for obtaining this 
crowning gift. Remember that you have renounced the 
world and the devil once for all at your baptism. Do not 
hesitate; do not look back, do not listen to suggestions 



146 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [March 12. 

against faith or virtue. But advance, day by day, along- the 
road which you have chosen, to God, who is your portion 
forever. 

MARCH 12.— ST. GREGORY THE GREAT. 



Gregory was a Roman of noble birth, and while still 
young was Governor of Rome. On his father's death he 
gave his great wealth to the poor, turned his house on the 




Coelian Hill into a monastery, which now bears his name, and 
for some years lived as a perfect monk. The Pope drew him 
from his seclusion to make him one of the seven deacons of 
Rome ; and he did great service to the Church for many years 
as what we now call Nuncio to the imperial court at Constan- 
tinople. While still a monk the Saint was struck with some 
boys who were exposed for sale in Rome, and heard with 
sorrow that they were Pagans. " And of what race are 
they? " he asked. " They are Angles." " Worthy indeed to 
be Angels of God/' said he ; " and of what province? " " Of 
Deira," was the reply. " Truly must we rescue them from 



March 13.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



H7 



the wrath of God. And what is the name of their king? " 
" He is called Ella." " It is well," said Gregory; " Alleluia 
must be sung in their land to God." He at once got leave 
from the Pope, and had set out to convert the English, when 
the murmurs of the people led the Pope to recall him. Still 
the Angles were not forgotten, and one of the Saint's first 
care as Pope was to send from his own monastery St. Augus- 
tine and other monks to England. On the death of Pope 
Pelagius II., Gregory was compelled to take government of 
the Church, and for fourteen years his pontificate was a per- 
fect model of ecclesiastical rule. He healed schisms, revived 
discipline; saved Italy by converting the wild Arian Lom- 
bards who were laying it waste, aided in the conversion of 
the Spanish and French Goths, who were also Arians, and 
kindled anew in Britain the light of the Faith which the Eng- 
lish had put out in blood. He set in order the Church's 
prayers and chant, guided and consoled her pastors with 
innumerable letters, and preached incessantly, most effect- 
ually by his own example. He died a.d. 604, worn out by 
austerities and toils ; and the Church reckons him one of her 
four great doctors, and reveres him as St. Gregory the Great. 

Reflection. — The champions of faith prove the truth of 
their teaching no less by the holiness of their lives than by 
the force of their arguments. Never forget that to convert 
others you must first see to your own soul. 



MARCH 13.— ST. EUPHRASIA, VIRGIN. 

Euphrasia was the daughter of pious and noble parents. 
After the death of her father, his widow withdrew privately 
with her little daughter into Egypt, where she was possessed 
of a very large estate. In that country she fixed her abode 
near a holy monastery of one hundred and thirty nuns. The 
young Euphrasia, at seven years of age, begged that she 
might be permitted to serve God in this monastery. The 
pious mother on hearing this wept for joy, and not long after 
presented her child to the abbess, who, taking up an image 



148 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 13. 



of Christ, gave it to Euphrasia. The tender virgin kissed it, 
saying, " By vow I consecrate myself to Christ." Then the 
mother led her before an image of our Redeemer, and lifting 
up her hands to heaven said, " Lord Jesus Christ, receive 
this child under your special protection. You alone doth 
she love and seek: to you doth she recommend herself." 
Then leaving her in the hands of the abbess, she went out of 
the monastery weeping. Some time after this the good 




mother fell sick, and soon slept in peace. Upon the news 
of her death, the Emperor Theodosius sent for the noble 
virgin to court, having promised her in marriage to a favorite 
young senator. But the virgin wrote him refusing the alli- 
ance, repeating her vow of virginity, and requesting that her 
estates should be sold and divided among the poor, and all 
her slaves set at liberty. The Emperor punctually executed 
all she desired, a little before his death in 395. St. Euphrasia 
was a perfect pattern of humility, meekness, and charity. If 
she found herself assaulted by any temptation, she imme- 
diately sought the advice of the abbess, who often enjoined 
her on such occasions some humbling and painful penitential 



a 



March 14.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



149 



labor ; as sometimes to carry great stones from one place to 
another; which employment she once, under an obstinate 
assault, continued thirty days together with wonderful sim- 
plicity, till the devil, being vanquished by her humble obedi- 
ence and chastisement of her body, left her in peace. She 
was favored with miracles both before and after her death, 
which happened in the year 410, and the thirtieth of her age. 



MARCH 14.— ST. MAUD, QUEEN. 



This princess was daughter of Theodoric, a powerful 
Saxon count. Her parents placed her very young in the 
monastery of Erford, of which her grandmother Maud was 




then abbess. Our Saint remained in that house, an accom- 
plished model of all virtues, till her parents married her to 
Henry, son of Otho, Duke of Saxony, in 913, who was after- 
wards chosen king of Germany. He was a pious and 
victorious prince, and very tender of his subjects. Whilst by 
his arms he checked the insolence of the Hungarians and 
Danes, and enlarged his dominions by adding to them 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 14. 



Bavaria, Maud gained domestic victories over her spiritual 
enemies more worthy of a Christian, and far greater in the 
eyes of heaven. She nourished the precious seeds of devo- 
tion and humility in her heart by assiduous prayer nad medi- 
tation. It was her delight to visit, comfort, and exhort the 
sick and the afflicted ; to serve and instruct the poor, and to 
afford her charitable succors to prisoners. Her husband, 
edified by her example, concurred with her in every pious 
undertaking which she projected. After twenty-three years' 
marriage, God was pleased to call the king to himself, 936. 
Maud, during his sickness, went to the church to pour forth 
her soul in prayer for him at the foot of the altar. As soon 
as she understood, by the tears and cries of the people, that 
he had expired, she called for a priest that was fasting to 
offer the holy sacrifice for his soul. She had three sons: 
Otho, afterward emperor; Henry, Duke of Bavaria, and St. 
Brunn, Archbishop of Cologne. Otho was crowned king of 
Germany in 937, and emperor at Rome in 962, after his 
victories over the Bohemians and Lombards. The two 
oldest sons conspired to strip Maud of her dowry, on the un- 
just pretence that she had squandered the revenues of the 
state on the poor. The unnatural princes at length repented 
of their injustice, and restored to her all that had been taken 
from her. She then became more liberal in her alms than 
ever, and founded many churches, with five monasteries. In 
her last sickness she made her confession to her grandson 
William, the Archbishop of Mentz, who yet died twelve days 
before her, on his road home. She again made a public con- 
fession before the priests and monks of the place, received a 
second time the last sacraments, and lying on a sackcloth, 
with ashes on her head, died on the 14th of March in 968. 

Reflection. — The beginning of true virtue is most 
ardently to desire it, and to ask it of God with the utmost 
assiduity and earnestness. Fervent prayer, holy meditation, 
and reading pious books are the principal means by which 
this virtue is to be constantly improved, and the interior life 
of the soul to be strengthened. 



March 15.] 



LIVES OF THE SAiNTS. 



MARCH 15.— ST. ZACHARY, POPE, 

St. Zachary succeeded Gregory III. in 741, and was a 
man of singular meekness and goodness. He loved the 
clergy and people of Rome to that degree that he hazarded 
his life for them on occasion of the troubles which Italy fell 
into by the rebellion of the Dukes of Spoletto and Benevento 




against King Luitprand. Out of respect to his sanctity and 
dignity, that king restored to the Church of Rome all the 
places which belonged to it, and sent back the captives with- 
out ransom. The Lombards were moved to tears at the 
devotion with which they heard him perform the divine ser- 
vice. The zeal and prudence of this holy Pope appeared in 
many wholesome regulations, which he had made to reform 
or settle the discipline and peace of several churches. St. 
Boniface, the Apostle of Germany, wrote to him against a 
certain priest, named Virgilius; that he labored to sow the 
seeds of discord between him and Odilo, Duke of Bavaria, 
and taught, besides, many errors. Zachary ordered that 



152 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 16. 



Virgilius should be sent to Rome, that his doctrine might be 
examined. It seems that he cleared himself ; for we find this 
same Virgilius soon after made Bishop of Salzburgh. Cer- 
tain Venetian merchants having bought at Rome many 
slaves to sell to the Moors in Africa, St. Zachary forbade 
such an iniquitous traffic, and paying the merchants their 
price, gave the slaves their liberty. He adorned Rome with 
sacred buildings, and with great foundations in favor of the 
poor and pilgrims, and gave every year a considerable sum 
to furnish oil for the lamps in St. Peter's Church. He died 
in 752, in the month of March. 



MARCH 16.— SS. ABRAHAM AND MARY. 



Abraham was a rich nobleman of Eclessa. At his 
parents' desire he married, but escaped to a cell near the city 




as soon as the feast was over. He walled up the cell-door, 
leaving only a small window through which he received his 
food. There for fifty years he sang God's praises and im- 
plored mercy for himself and for all men. The wealth which 



March 17.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



153 



fell to him on his parents' death he gave to the poor. As 
many sought him for advice and consolation, the Bishop of 
Edessa, in spite of his humility, ordained him priest. St. 
Abraham was sent, soon after his ordination, to an idolatrous 
city which had hitherto been deaf to every messenger. He 
was insulted, beaten, and three times banished, but he 
returned each time with fresh zeal. For three years he 
pleaded with God for those souls, and in the end prevailed. 
Every citizen came to him for baptism. After providing for 
their spiritual needs, he went back to his cell more than ever 
convinced of the power of prayer. His brother died, leaving 
an only daughter, Mary, to the Saint's care. He placed her 
in a cell near his own, and devoted himself to training her in 
perfection. After twenty years of innocence she fell, and 
fled in despair to a distant city, where she drowned the voice 
of conscience in sin. The Saint and his friend St. Ephrem 
prayed earnestly for her during two years. Then he went 
disguised to seek the lost sheep, and had the joy of bringing 
her back to the desert a true penitent. She received the gift 
of miracles, and her countenance after death shone as the 
sun. St. Abraham died five years before her, about a.d. 360. 
All Edessa came for his last blessing, and to secure his relics. 

Reflection. — Oh! that we realized the omnipotence of 
prayer. Every soul was created to glorify God eternally; and 
it is in the power of every one to add by the salvation of his 
neighbor to the glory of God. Let us make good use of this 
talent of prayer, lest our brother's blood be required of us at 
the last. 



MARCH 17.— ST. PATRICK, BISHOP, APOSTLE OF IRELAND. 

If the virtue of children reflects an honor on their 
parents, much more justly is the name of St. Patrick ren- 
dered illustrious by the innumerable lights of sanctity with 
which the Church of Ireland shone during many ages, and by 
the colonies of Saints with which it peopled many foreign 
countries ; for, under God, its inhabitants derived from their 



i54 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 17. 



glorious apostle the streams of that eminent sanctity by 
which they were long conspicuous to the whole world. St. 
Patrick was born towards the close of the fourth century, in 
a village called Bonaven Taberniae, which seems to be the 
town of Kilpatrick, on the mouth of the river Clyde, in Scot- 
land, between Dumbarton and Glasgow. He calls himself 
both a Briton and a Roman, or of a mixed extraction, and 
says his father was of a good family named Calphurnius, and 




a denizen of a neighboring city of the Romans, who not long 
after abandoned Britain, in 409. Some writers call his 
mother Conchessa, and say she was niece to St. Martin of 
Tours. 

In his sixteenth year he was carried into captivity by cer- 
tain barbarians who took him into Ireland, where he was 
obliged to keep cattle on the mountains and in the forests, in 
hunger and nakedness, amidst snows, rain, and ice. Whilst 
he lived in this suffering condition, God had pity on his soul, 
and quickened him to a sense of his duty by the impulse of a 
strong interior grace. The young man had recourse to Him 
with his whole heart in fervent prayer and fasting; and from 



1 



March i 7. ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



155 



that time faith and the love of God acquired continually new 
strength in his tender soul. After six months spent in 
slavery under the same master, St. Patrick was admonished 
by God in a dream to return to his own country, and informed 
that a ship was then ready to sail thither. He went at once 
to the sea-coast, though at a great distance, and found the 
vessel; but could not obtain his passage, probably for want 
of money. The Saint returned towards his hut, praying as 
he went, but the sailors, though pagans, called him back, and 
took him on board. After three days' sail they made land, 
but wandered twenty-seven days through deserts, and were 
a long while distressed for want of provisions, finding noth- 
ing to eat. Patrick had often spoken to the company on the 
infinite power of God, they therefore asked him why he did 
not pray for relief. Animated by a strong faith, he assured 
them that if they would address themselves with their whole 
hearts to the true God, He would hear and succor them. 
They did so, and on the same day met with a herd of swine. 
From that time provisions never failed them, till on the 
twenty-seventh day they came into a country that was cul- 
tivated and inhabited. 

Some years afterward he was again led captive, but 
recovered his liberty after two months. When he was at 
home with his parents, God manifested to him, by divers 
visions, that He destined him to the great work of the con- 
version of Ireland. The writers of his life say that after his 
second captivity he travelled into Gaul and Italy, and saw St. 
Martin, St. Germanus of Auxerre, and Pope Celestine, and 
that he received his mission and the apostolical benediction 
from this Pope, who died in 432. It is certain that he spent 
many years in preparing himself for his sacred calling. Great 
opposition was made against his episcopal consecration and 
mission, both by his own relations and by the clergy. These 
made him great offers in order to detain him among them, 
and endeavored to affright him by exaggerating the dangers 
to which he exposed himself amidst the enemies of the 
Romans and Britons, who did not know God. All these 
temptations threw the Saint into great perplexities, but the 
Lord, whose will he consulted by earnest prayer, supported 



r 5 6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 17. 



him, and he persevered in his resolution. He forsook his 
family, sold his birthright and dignity, to serve strangers, and 
consecrated his soul to God, to carry His name to the ends 
of the earth. In this disposition he passed into Ireland, to 
preach the Gospel, where the worship of idols still generally 
reigned. He devoted himself entirely to the salvation of 
these barbarians. He travelled over the whole island, pene- 
trating into the remotest corners, and such was the fruit of 
his preachings and sufferings that he baptized an infinite num- 
ber of people. He ordained everywhere clergymen, induced 
women to live in holy widowhood and continence, conse- 
crated virgins to Christ, and instituted monks. He took 
nothing from the many thousands whom he baptized, and 
often gave back the little presents which some laid on the 
altar, choosing rather to mortify the fervent than to scan- 
dalize the weak or the infidels. He gave freely of his own, 
however, both to Pagans and Christians, distributed large 
alms to the poor in the provinces where he passed, made 
presents to the kings, judging that necessary for the prog- 
ress of the Gospel, and maintained and educated many 
children, whom he trained up to serve at the altar. The 
happy success of his labors cost him many persecutions. 

A certain prince named Corotick, a Christian in name 
only, disturbed the peace of his flock. This tyrant, having 
made a descent into Ireland, plundered the country where 
St. Patrick had been just conferring confirmation on a great 
number of neophytes, who were yet in their white garments 
after baptism. Corotick massacred many, and carried away 
others, whom he sold to the infidel Picts or Scots. The next 
day the Saint sent the barbarian a letter entreating him to 
restore the Christian captives, and at least part of the booty 
he had taken, that the poor people might not perish for want ; 
but was only answered by railleries. The Saint, therefore, 
wrote with his own hand a letter. In it he styles himself 
a sinner and an ignorant man; he declares, nevertheless, that 
he is established bishop of Ireland, and pronounces Corotick 
and the other parricides and accomplices separated from him 
and from Jesus Christ, whose place he holds, forbidding any 
to eat with them, or to receive their alms, till they should 



March 17.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



157 



have satisfied God by the tears of sincere penance, and 
restored the servants of Jesus Christ to their liberty. This 
letter expresses his most tender love for his flock, and his 
grief for those who had been slain, yet mingled with joy, 
because they reign with the prophets, apostles, and martyrs. 
Jocelin assures us that Corotick was overtaken by the divine 
vengeance. 

St. Patrick held several councils to settle the discipline of 
the Church which he had planted. St. Bernard and the 
tradition of the country testify that St. Patrick fixed his 
metropolitan see at Armagh. He established some other 
bishops, as appears by his Council and other monuments. He 
not only converted the whole country by his preaching and 
wonderful miracles, but also cultivated this vineyard with so 
fruitful a benediction and increase from heaven, as to render 
Ireland a most flourishing garden in the Church of God, and 
a country of Saints. 

Many particulars are related of the labors of St. Patrick, 
which we pass over. In the first year of his mission he 
attempted to preach Christ in the general assembly of the 
kings and states of all Ireland, held yearly at Tara, the resi- 
dence of the chief king, styled the monarch of the whole 
island, and the principal seat of the Druids or priests, and 
their paganish rites. The son of Neill, the chief monarch, 
declared himself against the preacher ; however, Patrick con- 
verted several, and, on his road to that place, the father of St. 
Benignus, his immediate successor in the see of Armagh. He 
afterward converted and baptized the kings of Dublin and 
Munster, and the seven sons of the king of Connaught, with 
the greatest part of their subjects, and before his death 
almost the whole island. He founded a monastery at 
Armagh ; another called Domnach-Padraig, or Patrick's 
Church; also a third, named Sabhal-Padraig, and filled the 
country with churches and schools of piety and learning, the 
reputation of which, for the three succeeding centuries, drew 
many foreigners into Ireland. He died and was buried at 
Down, in Ulster. His body was found there in a church of 
his name in 1185, and translated to another part of the same 
church. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 18. 



Ireland is the nursery whence St. Patrick sent forth his 
missionaries and teachers. Glastonbury and Lindisfarne, 
Ripon and Malmesbury, bear testimony to the labors of Irish 
priests and bishops for the conversion of England. Iona is 
to this day the most venerated spot in Scotland. Columban, 
Fiacre, Gall, and many others evangelized the " rough 
places " of France and Switzerland. America and Australia, 
in modern times, owe their Christianity to the faith and zeal 
of the sons and daughters of St. Patrick. 

Reflection. — By the instrumentality of St. Patrick the 
faith is now as fresh in Ireland, even in this cold nineteenth 
century, as when it was first planted. Ask him to obtain for 
you the special grace of his children, to prefer the loss of 
every earthly good to the least compromise in matters of 
faith. 



MARCH 18.— ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM. 

Cyril was born at or near the city of Jerusalem, about 
the year 315. He was ordained priest by St. Maximus, who 
gave him the important charge of instructing and preparing 
the candidates for baptism. This charge he held for several 
years, and we still have one series of his instructions, given in 
the year 347 or 348. They are of singular interest as being 
the earliest record of the systematic teaching of the Church 
on the Creed and Sacraments, and as having been given in 
the church built by Constantine on Mount Calvary. They 
are solid, simple, profound ; saturated with Holy Scripture ; 
exact, precise, and terse ; and, as a witness and exposition of 
the Catholic Faith, invaluable. On the death of St. Maximus 
Cyril was chosen Bishop of Jerusalem. At the beginning of 
his episcopate a cross was seen in the air reaching from 
Mount Calvary to Mount Olivet, and so bright that it shone 
at noonday. St. Cyril gave an account of it to the emperor ; 
and the faithful regarded it as a presage of victory over the 
Arian heretics. While Cyril was bishop, the apostate Julian 
resolved to falsify the words of Our Lord by rebuilding the 
temple at Jerusalem. He employed the power and resources 



March 18.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



159 



of a Roman emperor ; the Jews thronged enthusiastically to 
him and gave munificently. But Cyril was unmoved. " The 
word of God abides/' he said; " one stone shall not be laid on 
another." When the attempt was made, a heathen writer 
tells us that horrible flames came forth from the earth, 
rendering the place inaccessible to the scorched and scared 
workmen. The attempt was made again and again, and then 
abandoned in despair. Soon after, the emperor perished 




miserably in a war against the Persians, and the Church had 
rest. Like the other great bishops of his time, he was per- 
secuted, and driven once and again from his see; but on the 
death of the Arian Emperor Valens he returned to Jeru- 
salem. He was present at the second General Council at 
Constantinople, and died in peace a.d. 386, after a troubled 
episcopate of thirty-five years. 

Reflection. — "As a stout staff," says St. John Chrysos- 
tom, " supports the trembling limbs of a feeble old man, so 
does faith sustain our vacillating mind, lest it be tossed about 
by sinful hesitation and perplexity." 



i6o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 19. 



MARCH 19.— ST. JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIR- 
GIN AND PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. 

St. Joseph was by birth of the royal family of David, but 
was living in humble obscurity as a carpenter, when God 
raised him to the highest sanctity, and fitted him to be the 
spouse of His Virgin Mother, and foster-father and guardian 




of the Incarnate Word. Joseph, says the Holy Scripture, 
was a just man; he was innocent and pure, as became the 
husband of Mary; he was gentle and tender, as one worthy 
to be named the father of Jesus; he was prudent and a lover 
of silence, as became the master of the holy house; above all, 
he was faithful and obedient to Divine calls. His conversa- 
tion was with angels rather than with men. When he learnt 
that Mary bore within her womb the Lord of Heaven, he 
feared to take her as his wife; but an angel bade him fear 
not, and all doubts vanished. When Herod sought the life 
of the Divine Infant, an angel told Joseph in a dream to fly 
with the Child and His Mother into Egypt. Joseph at once 



March 19.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



l6l 



arose and obeyed. This sudden and unexpected flight must 
have exposed Joseph to many inconveniences and sufferings 
in so long a journey with a little babe and a tender virgin, 
the greater part of the way being through deserts, and 
among strangers ; yet he alleges no excuses, nor inquires at 
what time they were to return. St. Chrysostom observes 
that God treats thus all his servants, sending them frequent 
trials to clear their hearts from the rust of self-love, but inter- 
mixing seasons of consolation. " Joseph," says he, " is anx- 
ious on seeing the Virgin with child; an angel removes that 
fear; he rejoices at the Child's birth, but a great fear suc- 
ceeds; the furious king seeks to destroy the Child, and the 
whole city is in an uproar to take away His life. This is fol- 
lowed by another joy, the adoration of the Magi; a new 
sorrow then arises; he is ordered to fly into a foreign 
unknown country, without help or acquaintance." It is the 
opinion of the fathers that upon their entering Egypt, at the 
presence of the child Jesus, all the oracles of that supersti- 
tious country were struck dumb, and the statues of their 
gods trembled, and in many places fell to the ground. The 
fathers also attribute to this holy visit the spiritual benedic- 
tion poured on that country, which made it for many ages 
most fruitful in Saints. After the death of King Herod, of 
which St. Joseph was informed in another vision, God or- 
dered him to return with the Child and His Mother into 
the land of Israel, which our Saint readily obeyed. But 
when he arrived in Judea, hearing that Archelaus succeeded 
Herod in that part of the country, apprehensive he might 
be infected with his father's vices, he feared on that account 
to settle there, as he would otherwise probably have done 
for the education of the Child. And therefore, being 
directed by God in another vision, he retired into the domin- 
ions of Herod Antipas, in Galilee, to his former habitation 
in Nazareth. St. Joseph being a strict observer of the Mosaic 
law, in conformity to its direction annually repaired to Jeru- 
salem to celebrate the Passover. Our Saviour, now in the 
twelfth year of his age, accompanied his parents thither; 
having performed the usual ceremonies of the feast, they 
were returning with many of their neighbors and acquaint- 



162 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [March 19. 



ance towards Galilee; and never doubting but that Jesus was 
with some of the company, they travelled on for a whole 
day's journey before they discovered that He was not with 
them. But when night came on, and they could hear no 
tidings of Him among their kindred and acquaintance, they, 
in the deepest affliction, returned with the utmost speed to 
Jerusalem. After an anxious search of three days they 
found Him in the temple, discoursing with the learned doc- 
tors of the law, and asking them such questions as raised 
the admiration of all that heard Him, and made them aston- 
ished at the ripeness of His understanding; nor were His 
parents less surprised on this occasion. When His mother 
told Him with what grief and earnestness they had sought 
Him, and asked, " Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us? 
Behold, Thy father and I sought Thee in great affliction of 
mind ; " she received for answer, " How is it that you sought 
me? did you not know that I must be about my Father's 
business? " But, though thus staying in the temple un- 
known to His parents, in all other things He was obedient 
to them, returning with them to Nazareth, and there living 
in all dutiful subjection to them. As no further mention is 
made of St. Joseph, he must have died before the marriage 
of Cana and the beginning of our Divine Saviour's ministry. 
We cannot doubt that he had the happiness of Jesus and 
Mary attending at his death, praying by him, assisting and 
comforting him in his last moments. Whence he is particu- 
larly invoked for the great grace of a happy death, and the 
spiritual presence of Jesus in that hour. 

Reflection. — St. Joseph, the shadow of the Eternal 
Father upon earth, the protector of Jesus in his home at 
Nazareth, and a lover of all children for the sake of the Holy 
Child, should be the chosen guardian and pattern of every 
true Christian family. 



March 20.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



163 



MARCH 20.— ST. WULFRAN, ARCHBISHOP. 

His father was an officer in the armies of King Dagobert, 
and the Saint spent some years in the court of King Clotaire 
III., and of his mother St. Bathildes, but occupied his heart 
only on God, despising worldly greatness as empty and dan- 




gerous, and daily advancing in virtue. His estate of Mau- 
rilly he bestowed on the Abbey of Fontenelle, or St. 
Vandrille, in Normandy. He was chosen and consecrated 
Archbishop of Sens in 682, which diocese he governed two 
years and a half with great zeal and sanctity. A tender 
compassion for the blindness of the idolaters of Friesland, 
and the example of the English zealous preachers in those 
parts, moved him to resign his bishopric, with proper advice, 
:and after a retreat at Fontenelle to enter Friesland in quality 
of a poor missionary priest. He baptized great multitudes, 
among them a son of King Radbod, and drew the people 
from the barbarous custom of sacrificing men to idols. On 
a certain occasion, one Ovon, having been selected as a vie- 



164 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 21. 



tim of a sacrifice to the heathen gods, St. Wulfran earnestly 
begged his life of King Radbod; but the people ran tumul- 
tuously to the palace, and would not suffer what they called 
a sacrilege. After many words they consented, but on con- 
dition that Wulfran's God should save Ovon's life. The 
Saint betook himself to prayer; the man, after hanging on 
the gibbet two hours, and being left for dead, fell to the 
ground by the breaking of the cord; being found alive he 
was given to the Saint, and became a monk and priest at 
Fontenelle. Wulfran also miraculously rescued two chil- 
dren from being drowned in honor of the idols. Radbod, 
who had been an eye-witness to this last miracle, promised 
to become a Christian; but as he was going to step into the 
baptismal font he asked where the great number of his ances- 
tors and nobles were in the next world. The Saint replied 
that hell is the portion of all who die guilty of idolatry. At 
which the prince refused to be baptized, saying he would go 
with the greater number. This tyrant sent afterward to St. 
Willebrord to treat with him about his conversion; but before 
the arrival of the Saint was found dead. St. Wulfran retired 
to Fontenelle that he might prepare himself for death, and 
expired there on the 20th of April, 729. 

Reflection. — In every age the Catholic Church is a 
missionary Church. She has received the world for her 
inheritance, and in our own days many missioners have 
watered with their blood the lands in which they labored. 
Help the propagation of the Faith by alms, and above all 
by prayers. You will quicken your own faith, and gain a 
part in the merits of the glorious apostolate. 



MARCH 21.— ST. BENEDICT, ABBOT. 

St. Benedict, blessed by grace and in name, was born 
of a noble Italian family about 480. When a boy he was 
sent to Rome, and there placed in the public schools. 
Scared by the licentiousness of the Roman youth, he fled to 
the desert mountains of Subiaco, and was directed by the 



March 21.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



I6 5 



Holy Spirit into a cave, deep, craggy, and almost inacces- 
sible. He lived there for three years, unknown to any one 
save the holy monk Romanus, who clothed him with the 
monastic habit and brought him food. But the fame of his 
sanctity soon gathered disciples round him. The rigor of 
his rule, however, drew on him the hatred of some of the 
monks, and one of them mixed poison with the abbot's 
drink. But when the Saint made the sign of the cross on 




the poisoned bowl, it broke and fell in pieces to the ground. 
After he had built twelve monasteries at Subiaco, he removed 
to Monte Cassino, where he founded an abbey in which he 
wrote his rule, and lived until death. By prayer he did all 
things: wrought miracles, saw visions, and prophesied. A 
peasant, whose boy had just died, ran in anguish to St. Bene- 
dict, crying out, " Give me back my son! " The monks 
joined the poor man in his entreaties; but the Saint replied, 
" Such miracles are not for us to work, but for the blessed 
Apostles. Why will you lay upon me a burden which my 
weakness cannot bear? " Moved at length by compassion 
he knelt down, and prostrating himself upon the body of 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 22, 



the child prayed earnestly. Then rising, he cried out, " Be- 
hold not, O Lord, my sins, but the faith of this man, who 
desireth the life of his son, and restore to the body that soul 
which Thou hast taken away." Hardly had he spoken when 
the child's body began to tremble, and taking it by the hand 
he restored it alive to its father. Six days before his death 
he ordered his grave to be opened, and fell ill of a fever. 
On the sixth day he requested to be borne into the chapel, 
and, having received the Body and Blood of Christ, with 
hands uplifted, and leaning on one of his disciples, he calmly 
expired in prayer on the 21st of March, 543. 

Reflection. — The Saints never feared to undertake any 
work, however arduous, for God, because distrusting self 
they relied for assistance and support wholly upon prayer. 



MARCH 22.— ST. CATHARINE OF SWEDEN VIRGIN. 

St. Catharine was daughter of Ulpho, prince of Nericia, 
in Sweden, and of St. Bridget. The love of God seemed 
almost to prevent in her the use of her reason. At seven 
years of age she was placed in the nunnery of Risburgh, and 
educated in piety under the care of the holy abbess of that 
house. Being very beautiful, she was, by her father, con- 
tracted in marriage to Egard, a young nobleman of great 
virtue; but the virgin persuaded him to join with her in mak- 
ing a mutual vow of perpetual chastity. By her discourses 
he became desirous only of heavenly graces, and, to draw 
them down upon his soul more abundantly, he readily acqui- 
esced in the proposal. The happy couple, having but one 
heart and one desire, by a holy emulation excited each other 
to prayer, mortification, and works of charity. After the 
death of her father, St. Catharine, out of devotion to the 
passion of Christ, and to the relics of the martyrs, accom- 
panied her mother in her pilgrimages and practices of devo- 
tion and penance. After her death at Rome, in 1373, Catha- 
rine returned to Sweden, and died abbess of Vadzstena, or 
Vatzen, on the 24th of March, in 1381. For the last twenty- 



i6 7 



March 23.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



five years of her life she every day purified her soul by a 
sacramental confession of her sins. 




Reflection. — Whoever has to dwell in the world stands 
in need of great prudence; the Holy Scripture itself assures 
us that " the knowledge of the Holy is prudence." 



MARCH 23.— SS. VICTORIAN AND OTHERS, MARTYRS. 

Huneric, the Arian king of the Vandals in Africa, suc- 
ceeded his father Genseric in 477. He behaved himself at 
first with moderation towards the Catholics, but in 480 he 
began a grievous persecution of the clergy and holy virgins, 
which, in 484, became general, and vast numbers of Catholics 
were put to death. Victorian, one of the principal lords of 
the kingdom, had been made governor of Carthage, with 
the Roman title of proconsul. He was the wealthiest sub- 
ject of the king, who placed great confidence in him, and he 
had ever behaved with an inviolable fidelity. The king, 
after he had published his cruel edicts, sent a message to the 



168 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 23. 



proconsul, promising, if he would conform to his religion, 
to heap on him the greatest wealth and the highest honors 
which it was in the power of a prince to bestow. The pro- 
consul, who amidst the glittering pomps of the world per- 
fectly understood its emptiness, made this generous answer: 
" Tell the king that I trust in Christ. His majesty may 
condemn me to any torments: but I shall never consent to 
renounce the Catholic Church in which I have been baptized. 
Even if there were no lite after this, I would never be un- 




grateful and perfidious to God, who has granted me the hap- 
piness of knowing Him, and bestowed on me His most 
precious graces." The tyrant became furious at this an- 
swer: nor can the tortures be imagined which he caused the 
Saint to endure. Victorian suffered them with joy, and 
amidst them finished his glorious martyrdom. The Roman 
Martyrology joins with him on this day four others who were 
crowned in the same persecution. Two brothers, who were 
apprehended for the faith, had promised each other, if pos- 
sible, to die together; and they begged of God, as a favor, 
that they might both suffer the same torments. The perse- 



March 23.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



cutors hung them in the air with great weights at their feet. 
One of them, under the excess of pain, begged to be taken 
down for a little ease. His brother, fearing that this might 
move him to deny his faith, cried out from the rack, " God 
forbid, dear brother, that you should ask such a thing. Is 
this what we promised to Jesus Christ? " The other was 
so wonderfully encouraged that he cried out, " No, no; I 
ask not to be released; increase my tortures, exert all your 
cruelties till they are exhausted upon me." They were then 
burnt with red-hot plates of iron, and tormented so long 
that the executioners at last left them, saying, " Every body 
follows their example, no one now embraces our religion." 
This they said, chiefly, because, notwithstanding they had 
been so long and so grievously tormented, there were no 
scars or bruises to be seen upon them. Two merchants of 
Carthage, who both bore the name of Frumentius, suffered 
martyrdom about the same time. Among many glorious 
confessors at that time, one Liberatus, a.L eminent physi- 
cian, was sent into banishment with his wife. He only 
grieved to see his infant children torn from him- His wife 
checked his tears by these words: " Think no more of them, 
Jesus Christ Himself will have care of them, and protect their 
souls." Whilst in prison she was told that her husband had 
conformed: accordingly, when she met him at the bar before 
the judge, she upbraided him in open court for having basely 
abandoned God; but discovered by his answer that a cheat 
had been put upon her to deceive her into her ruin. Twelve 
young children, when dragged away by the persecutors, held 
their companions by the knees till they were torn away by 
violence. They were most cruelly beaten and scourged 
every day for a long time; yet by God's grace every one of 
them persevered to the end of the persecution firm in the 
faith. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 24. 



MARCH 24.— ST. SIMON, INFANT MARTYR. 

" Hail, flowers of the martyrs! " the Church sings in her 
Office of the Holy Innocents, who were the first to die for 
Christ; and in every age mere children and infants have 
gloriously confessed His name. In 1472, the Jews in the city 




of Trent determined to vent their hate against the crucified 
by slaying a Christian child at the coming Passover, and 
Tobias, one of their number, was deputed to entrap a victim. 
He found a bright, smiling boy named Simon playing outside 
his home, with no one guarding him. Tobias patted the 
little fellow's cheek, and coaxed him to take his hand. The 
boy, who was not two years old, did so ; but he began to call 
and cry for his mother when he found himself being led from 
home. Then Tobias gave him a bright coin to look at, and 
with many kind caresses silenced his grief, and conducted 
him securely to his house. At midnight on Holy Thursday, 
the work of butchery began. Having gagged his mouth, 
they held his arms in the form of a cross, while they pierced 



March 25. J 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



171 



his tender body with awls and bodkins in blasphemous 
mockery of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. After an hour's 
torture, the little martyr lifted his eyes to heaven, and gave 
up his innocent soul. The Jews cast his body into the river ; 
but their crime was discovered and punished, while the holy 
relics were enshrined in St. Peter's Church at Trent, where 
they have worked many miracles. 

William of Norwich is another of these children 
martyrs. His parents were simple country folk, but his 
mother was taught by a vision to expect a Saint in her son. 
As a boy he fasted thrice a week and prayed constantly, and 
he was only an apprentice twelve years of age, at a tanner's 
in Norwich, when he won his crown. A little before Easter, 
a.d. 1 137, he was enticed into a Jew's house, and was there 
gagged, bound, and crucified in hatred of Christ. Five years 
passed before the body was- found, when it was buried as a 
saintly relic in the cathedral churchyard. A rose-tree 
planted hard by flowered miraculously in midwinter, and all 
manner of sick persons were healed of their diseases at St. 
William's shrine. 

Reflection. — Learn from the infant martyrs that, how- 
ever weak you may be, you still can suffer for Christ's sake, 
and, by suffering, win your crown. 



MARCH 25.— THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE BLESSED 
VIRGIN MARY. 

This great festival takes its name from the happy tidings 
brought by the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin, concern- 
ing the Incarnation of the Son of God. It commemorates 
the most important embassy that was ever known: an 
embassy sent by the King of kings, performed by one of the 
chief princes of His heavenly court ; directed, not to the great 
ones of this earth, but to a poor, unknown virgin, who, being 
endowed with the most angelic purity of soul and body, 
being withal perfectly humble and devoted to God, was 
greater in His eyes than the mightiest monarch in the world. 



1/2 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 25. 



When the Son of God became man, He could have taken 
upon Him our nature without the co-operation of any 
creature ; but He was pleased to be born of a woman. In 
the choice of her whom He raised to this most sublime of all 
dignities, He pitched upon the one who, by the riches of His 
grace and virtues, was of all others the most holy and the 
most perfect. The design of this embassy of the archangel 
is to give a Saviour to the world, a victim of propitiation to 
the sinner, a model to the just, a son to this Virgin, remain- 




ing still a virgin, and a new nature to the Son of God, the 
nature of man, capable of suffering pain and anguish in order 
to satisfy God's justice for our transgressions. 

When the angel appeared to Mary and addressed her, 
the Blessed Virgin was troubled ; not at the angel's appear- 
ance, says St. Ambrose, for heavenly visions and a commerce 
with the blessed spirits had been familiar to her. But what 
alarmed her, he says, was the angel's appearing in human 
form, in the shape of a young man. What might add to her 
fright on the occasion, was his addressing her in words of 
praise. Mary, guarded by her modesty, is in confusion at 



March 25.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



173 



expressions of this sort, and dreads the least appearance of 
deluding flattery. Such high commendations make her 
cautious how she answers, till in silence she has more fully 
considered of the matter: " She revolved in her mind/' says 
St. Luke, " what manner of salutation this should be." Ah! 
what numbers of innocent souls have been corrupted for 
want of using the like precautions! 

The angel, to calm her, says: " Fear not, Mary, for thou 
hast found favor before God." He then informs her that 
she is to conceive and bring forth a son whose name shall be 
Jesus, who shall be great, and the Son of the Most High, and 
possessed of the throne of David, her illustrious ancestor. 
Mary, out of a just concern to know how she may comply 
with the will of God without prejudice to her vow of vir- 
ginity, inquires, " How shall this be? " Nor does she give 
her consent till the heavenly messenger acquaints her that it 
is to be a work of the Holy Ghost, who in making her fruit- 
ful, will not intrench in the least upon her virginal purity. 

In submission, therefore, to God's will, without any fur- 
ther inquiries, she expresses her assent in these humble but 
powerful words: " Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it 
done to me according to Thy word." What faith and con- 
fidence does her answer express! What profound humility 
and perfect obedience! 

Reflection. — From the example of the Blessed Virgin 
in this mystery, how ardent a love ought we to conceive of 
purity arid humility! The Holy Ghost is invited by purity to 
dwell in souls, but is chased away by the filth of the contrary 
vice. Humility is the foundation of a spiritual life. By it 
Mary was prepared for the extraordinary graces, and all 
virtues with which she was enriched, and for the eminent 
dignity of Mother of God. 



i/4 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 26. 



MARCH 26.— ST. LUDGER, BISHOP. 

St. Ludger was born in Friesland about the year 743. 
His father, a nobleman of the first rank, at the child's own 
request, committed him very young to the care of St. Greg- 
ory, the disciple of St. Boniface, and his successor in the 




government of the see of Utrecht. Gregory educated him 
in his monastery, and gave him the clerical tonsure. Ludger, 
desirous of further improvement, passed over into England, 
and spent four years and a half under Alcuin, who was rector 
of a famous school at York. In 773 he returned home, and 
St. Gregory dying in 776, his successor, Alberic, compelled 
our Saint to receive the holy order of priesthood, and 
employed him for several years in preaching the word of 
God in Friesland, where he converted great numbers, 
founded several monasteries, and built many churches. The 
pagan Saxons ravaging the country, Ludger travelled to 
Rome to consult Pope Adrian II. what course to take, and 
what he thought God required of him. He then retired for 



March 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



three years and a half to Mount Cassino, where he wore the 
habit of the order, and conformed to the practice of the rule 
during his stay, but made no religious vows. In 787, Char- 
lemagne overcame the Saxons, and conquered Friesland and 
the coast of the Germanic Ocean as far as Denmark. Ludger 
hearing this, returned into East Friesland, where he con- 
verted the Saxons to the faith ; as he also did the province of 
Westphalia. He founded the monastery of Werden, twenty- 
nine miles from Cologne. In 802, Hildebald, archbishop of 
Cologne, not regarding his strenuous resistance, ordained 
him bishop of Munster. He joined in his diocese five cantons 
of Friesland which he had converted, and also founded the 
monastery of Helmstad, in the duchy of Brunswick. 

Being accused to the Emperor Charlemagne of wasting 
his income, and neglecting the embellishment of churches, 
this prince ordered him to appear at court. The morning 
after his arrival, the emperor's chamberlain brought him 
word that his attendance was required. The Saint, being 
then at his prayers, told the officer that he would follow him 
as soon as he had finished them, He was sent for three 
several times before he was ready, which the courtiers repre- 
sented as a contempt of his majesty, and the emperor, with 
some emotion, asked him why he had made him wait so long, 
though he had sent for him so often. The Bishop answered 
that though he had the most profound respect for his 
majesty, yet God was infinitely above him : that whilst we are 
occupied with Him, it is our duty to forget everything else. 
This answer made such an impression on the emperor, that 
he dismissed him with honor, and disgraced his accusers. St. 
Ludger was favored with the gift of miracles and prophecy. 
His last sickness, though violent, did not hinder him from 
continuing his functions to the very last day of his life, which 
was Passion-Sunday, on which day he preached very early in 
the morning, said mass towards nine, and preached again 
before night, foretelling to those that were about him, that 
he should die the following night, and fixing upon a place in 
his monastery of Werden where he chose to be interred. He 
died accordingly on the 26th of March, at midnight. 



176 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 27. 



Reflection. — Prayer is an action so sublime and super- 
natural, that the Church in her canonical hours teaches us to 
begin it by a fervent petition of grace to perform it well. 
What an insolence and mockery is it to join with this petition 
an open disrespect and a neglect of all necessary precautions 
against distractions! We ought never to appear before God, 
to tender Him our homages or supplications, without trem- 
bling, and without being deaf to all creatures, and shutting 
all our senses to every object that can distract our minds 
from God. 

MARCH 27.— ST. JOHN OF EGYPT. 

Till he was twenty-five, John worked as a carpenter 
with his father. Then feeling a call from God, he left the 
world, and committed himself to a holy solitary in the desert 




His master tried his spirit by many unreasonable commands, 
bidding him roll the hard rocks, tend dead trees, and the like. 
John obeyed in all things with the simplicity of a child. After 
a careful training of sixteen years, he withdrew to the top of 



March 28.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



177 



a steep cliff to think only of God and his soul. The more he 
knew of himself, the more he distrusted himself. For the last 
fifty years, therefore, he never saw women, and seldom men. 
The result of this vigilance and purity was threefold : a holy 
joy and cheerfulness which consoled all who conversed with 
him; perfect obedience to superiors; and in return for this, 
authority over creatures, whom he had forsaken for the 
Creator. St. Augustine tells us of his appearing in a vision 
to a holy woman whose sight he had restored, to avoid 
seeing her face to face. Devils assailed him continually, but 
John never ceased his prayer. From his long communings 
with God, he turned to men with gifts of healing and 
prophecy. Twice each week he spoke through a window 
with those who came to him, blessing oil for their sick, and 
predicting things to come. A deacon came to him in dis- 
guise, and he reverently kissed his hand. To the Emperor 
Theodosius he foretold his future victories and the time of 
his death. The three last days of his life John gave wholly 
to God: on the third he was found on his knees as if in prayer, 
but his soul was with the blessed. He died a.d. 394. 

Reflection. — The Saints examine themselves by the 
perfections of God, and do penance. We judge our conduct 
by the standard of other men, and rest satsified with it. Yet 
it is by the divine holiness alone that we shall be judged when 
we die. 



MARCH 28.— ST. GONTRAN, KING. 

St. Gontran was son of King Clotaire, and grandson 
of Clovis I. and St. Clotildis. Being the second son, whilst 
his brothers Charibert reigned at Paris, and Sigebert in Aus- 
trasia, residing at Metz, he was crowned king of Orleans and 
Burgundy in 561, making Chalons his capital. When com- 
pelled to take up arms against his ambitious brothers and the 
Lombards, he made no other use of his victories, under the 
conduct of a brave general called Mommol, than to give 
peace to his dominions. The crimes in which the barbarous 



i;8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 28. 



manners of his nation involved him he effaced by tears of 
repentance. The prosperity of his reign, both in peace and 
war, condemns those who think that human policy cannot be 
modelled by the maxims of the Gospel, whereas nothing can 
render a government more flourishing. He always treated 
the pastors of the Church with respect and veneration. He 




was the protector of the oppressed, and the tender parent 
of his subjects. He gave the greatest attention to the care 
of the sick. He fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to 
God night and day as a victim ready to be sacrificed on the 
altar of His justice, to avert His indignation which he 
believed he himself had provoked and drawn down upon his 
innocent people. He was a severe punisher of crimes in his 
officers and others, and, by many wholesome regulations, 
restrained the barbarous licentiousness of his troops ; but no 
man was more ready to forgive offences against his own 
person. With loyal magnificence he built and endowed 
many churches and monasteries. This good king died on 
the 28th of March, in 593, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, 
having reigned thirty-one years and some months. 



March 29.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



179 



Reflection. — There is no means of salvation more 
reliable than the practice of mercy, since Our Lord has said 
it: " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy." 

MARCH 29.— SS. JONAS, BARACHISIUS, AND THEIR 
COMPANIONS, MARTYRS. 

King Sapor, of Persia, in the eighteenth year of his 
reign, raised a bloody persecution against the Christians, and 
laid waste their churches and monasteries. Jonas and Bara- 
chisius, two brothers of the city Beth-Asa, hearing that 




several Christians lay under sentence of death at Hubaham, 
went thither to encourage and serve them. Nine of that 
number received the crown of martyrdom. After their 
execution, Jonas and Barachisius were apprehended for hav- 
ing exhorted them to die. The president entreated the two 
brothers to obey the King of Persia, and to worship the sun, 
moon, fire, and water. Their answer was, that it was more 
reasonable to obey the immortal King of heaven and earth 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March 30. 



than a mortal prince. Jonas was beaten with knotty clubs 
and with rods, and next set in a frozen pond, with a cord 
tied to his foot. Barachisius had two red-hot iron plates and 
two red-hot hammers applied under each arm, and melted 
lead dropped into his nostrils and eyes ; after which, he was 
carried to prison, and there hung up by one foot. Despite 
these cruel tortures, the two brothers remained steadfast in 
the faith. New and more horrible torments were then 
devised, under which, at last, they yielded up their lives, while 
their pure souls winged their flight to heaven, there to gain 
the martyr's crown which they had so faithfully won. 

Reflection. — Those powerful motives which supported 
the martyrs under the sharpest torments ought to inspire us 
with patience, resignation, and holy joy under sickness and 
all crosses or trials. Nothing is more heroic in the practice 
of Christian virtue, nothing more precious in the sight of 
God, than the sacrifice of patience, submission, constant 
fidelity, and charity in a state of suffering. 



MARCH 30.— ST. JOHN CLIMACUS. 

John made, while still young, such progress in learning 
that he was called the Scholastic. At the age of sixteen he 
turned from the brilliant future which lay before him, and 
retired to Mt. Sinai, where he put himself under the direction 
of a holy monk. Never was novice more fervent, more un- 
relaxing in his efforts for self-mastery. After four years, he 
took the vows, and an aged abbot foretold that he would 
some day be one of the greatest lights of the Church. Nine- 
teen years later, on the death of his director, he withdrew 
into a deeper solitude, where he studied the lives and writ- 
ings of the Saints, and was raised to an unusual height of 
contemplation. The fame of his holiness and practical wis- 
dom drew crowds around him for advice and consola- 
tion. For his greater profit he visited the solitudes of Egypt. 
At the age of seventy-five he was chosen abbot of Mt. Sinai, 
and there " he dwelt in the mount of God, and drew from the: 



March 30.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



I8l 



rich treasure of his heart priceless riches of doctrine, which 
he poured forth with wondrous abundance and benediction." 
He was induced by a brother abbot to write the rules by 
which he had guided his life ; and his book, called the Climax, 
or Ladder of Perfection, has been prized in all ages for its 
wisdom, its clearness, and its unction. At the end of four 




years, he would no longer endure the honors and distrac- 
tions of his office, and retired to his solitude, where he 
died a.d. 605. 

Reflection. — " Cast not from thee, my brother," says 
the Imitation of Christ, " the sure hope of attaining to the 
spiritual life; still hast thou the time and the means." 



182 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[March $u 



MARCH 31. — ST. BENJAMIN, DEACON, MARTYR. 

Isdegerdes, son of Sapor III., put a stop to the cruel 
persecutions against the Christians in Persia, which had been 
begun by Sapor II., and the Church had enjoyed twelve 
years' peace in that kingdom, when, in 420, it was disturbed 




by the indiscreet zeal of Abdas, a Christian bishop who 
burned down the Pyrseum, or Temple of Fire, the great 
divinity of the Persians. King Isdegerdes thereupon 
demolished all the Christian churches in Persia, put to death 
Abdas, and raised a general persecution against the Church, 
which continued forty years with great fury. Isdegerdes 
died the year following, in 421. But his son and successor, 
Varar^s, carried on the persecution with greater inhuman- 
ity. The very recital of the cruelties he exercised on the 
Christians strikes us with horror. Amongst the glorious 
champions of Christ was St. Benjamin, a deacon. The 
tyrant caused him to be beaten and imprisoned. He had 
lain a year in the dungeon, when an ambassador from the 
emperor obtained his release on condition he should never 



Aprij i.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



183 



speak to any of the courtiers about religion. The ambas- 
sador passed his word in his behalf that he would not; but 
Benjamin, who was a minister of the Gospel, declared that 
he should miss no opportunity of announcing Christ. The 
king, being informed that he still preached the faith in his 
kingdom, ordered him to be apprehended, caused reeds to 
be run in between the nails and the flesh, both of his hands 
and feet, and to be thrust into other most tender parts, and 
drawn out again, and this to be frequently repeated with 
violence. Lastly, a knotty stake was thrust into his bowels, 
to rend and tear them, in which torment he expired in the 
year 424. 

Reflection. — We entreat you, O most holy martyrs, 
who cheerfully suffered most cruel torments for God our 
Saviour and His love, on which account you are now most 
intimately and familiarly united to Him, that you pray to the 
Lord for us miserable sinners, covered with filth, that He 
infuse into us the grace of Christ, that it may enlighten our 
souls that we may love Him. 



APRIL 1.— ST. HUGH, BISHOP. 

It was the happiness of this Saint to receive from his 
cradle the strongest impressions of piety by the example and 
care of his illustrious and holy parents. He was born at 
Chateau-neuf, in the territory of Valence in Dauphine, in 
1053. His father, Odilo, who served his country in an hon- 
orable post in the army, labored, by all the means in his 
power, to make his soldiers faithful servants of their Creator, 
and by severe punishments to restrain vice. By the advice 
of his son, St. Hugh, he afterwards became a Carthusian 
monk, and died at the age of a hundred, having received 
extreme unction and the viaticum from the hands of his son. 
Our Saint likewise assisted, in her last moments, his mother, 
who had for many years, under his direction, served God in 
her own house, by prayer, fasting, and plenteous alms-deeds. 
Hugh, from the cradle, appeared to be a child of benediction. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April i 



He went through his studies with great applause, and having 
chosen to serve God in an ecclesiastical state, he accepted a 
canonry in the cathedral of Valence. His great sanctity and 
learning rendered him an ornament of that Church, and he 
was finally made bishop of Grenoble. He set himself at 
once to reprove vice and to reform abuses, and so plentiful 
was the benediction of heaven upon his labors that he had 
the comfort to see the face of his diocese in a short time ex- 




ceedingly changed. After two years, he privately resigned 
his bishopric, presuming on the tacit consent of the Holy 
See, and, putting on the habit of St. Bennet, he entered upon 
a novitiate in the austere abbey of Casa-Dei in Auvergne. 
There he lived a year a perfect model of all virtues to that 
house of Saints, till Pope Gregory VII. commanded him in 
virtue of holy obedience to resume his pastoral charge. 

He earnestly solicited Pope Innocent II. for leave to 
resign his bishopric, that he might die in solitude; but was 
never able to obtain his request. God was pleased to purify 
his soul by a lingering illness before He called him to Him- 
self. Some time before his death, he lost his memory for 



April 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



I8 5 



every thing but his prayers. He closed his penitential course 
on the 1st of April, in 1132, wanting only two months of 
being eighty years old, of which he had been fifty-two years 
bishop. Miracles attested the sanctity of his happy death, 
and he was canonized by Innocent II. in 11 34. 

Reflection. — Let us learn from the example of the 
Saints, to shun the tumult of the world as much as our cir- 
cumstances will allow, and give ourselves up to the exercises 
of holy solitude, prayer, and pious reading. 



APRIL 2.— ST. FRANCIS OF PAULA. 



At the age of fifteen, Francis left his poor home at Paula 
in Calabria to live as a hermit in a cave by the sea-coast. In 
time disciples gathered round him, and with them, in 1436, 




he founded the " Minims," so called to show that they were 
the least of monastic Orders. They observed a perpetual 
Lent, and never touched meat, fish, eggs, or milk. Francis 
himself made the rock his bed; his best garment was a hair 
shirt, and boiled herbs his only fare. As his body withered, 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 2. 



his faith grew powerful, and he " did all things in Him who 
strengthened him." He cured the sick, raised the dead, 
averted plagues, expelled evil spirits, and brought sinners 
to penance. A famous preacher, instigated by a few mis- 
guided monks, set to work to preach against St. Francis and 
his miracles. The Saint took no notice of it, and the 
preacher, finding that he made no way with his hearers, deter- 
mined to see this poor hermit, and confound him in person. 
The Saint received him kindly, gave him a seat by the fire, 
and listened to a long exposition of his own frauds. He 
then quietly took some glowing embers from the fire, and 
closing his hands upon them unhurt, said, " Come, Father 
Anthony, warm yourself, for you are shivering for want of a 
little charity." Father Anthony, falling at the Saint's feet, 
asked for pardon, and then, having received his embrace, 
quitted him, to become his panegyrist and attain himself to 
great perfection. When the avaricious King Ferdinand of 
Naples offered him money for his convent, Francis told him 
to give it back to his oppressed subjects, and softened his 
heart by causing blood to flow from the ill-gotten coin. 
Louis XI. of France, trembling at the approach of death, 
sent for the poor hermit to ward off the foe whose advance 
neither his fortresses nor his guards could check. Francis 
went by the Pope's command, and prepared the king for a 
holy death. The successors of Louis showered favors on the 
Saint, his Order spread throughout Europe, and his name 
was reverenced through the Christian world. He died at 
the age of ninety-one, on Good Friday, 1507, with the cruci- 
fix in his hand, and the last words of Jesus on his lips, " Into 
Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit." 

Reflection. — Rely in all difficulties upon God. That 
which enabled St. Francis to work miracles will in proportion 
do wonders for yourself, by giving you strength and con- 
solation. 



April 3.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



18/ 



APRIL 3 ST. RICHARD OF CHICHESTER. 

Richard was born a.d. 1197, in the little town of Wyche, 
eight miles from Worcester, England. He and his elder 
brother were left orphans when young, and Richard gave 
up the studies which he loved, to farm his brother's impover- 
ished estate. His brother, in gratitude for Richard's suc- 




cessful care, proposed to make over to him all his lands ; but 
he refused both the estates and the offer of a brilliant mar- 
riage, to study for the priesthood at Oxford. In 1 135 he 
was appointed, for his learning and piety, chancellor of that 
University, and afterward by St. Edmund of Canterbury, 
chancellor of his diocese. He stood by that Saint in his long 
contest with the King, and accompanied him into exile. 
After St. Edmund's death, Richard returned to England to 
toil as a simple curate, but was soon elected Bishop of 
Chichester in preference to the worthless nominee of Henry 
III. The King in revenge refused to recognize the election, 
and seized the revenues of the see. Thus Richard found 
himself fighting the same battle in which St. Edmund had 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 4. 



died. He went to Lyons, was there consecrated by Innocent 
IV. in 1245, an d returning to England, in spite of his poverty 
and the King's hostility, exercised fully his episcopal 
rights, and thoroughly reformed his see. After two years, 
his revenues were restored. Young and old loved St. 
Richard. He gave all he had, and worked miracles, to feed 
the poor and heal the sick ; but when the rights or purity of 
the Church were concerned, he was inexorable. A priest of 
noble blood polluted his office by sin ; Richard deprived him 
of his benefice, and refused the King's petition in his favor. 
On the other hand, when a knight violently put a priest in 
prison, Richard compelled the knight to walk round the 
priest's church with the same log of wood on his neck to 
which he had chained the priest ; and when the burgesses of 
Lewes tore a criminal from the church and hanged him, 
Richard made them dig up the body from its unconsecrated 
grave and bear it back to the sanctuary they had violated. 
Richard died a.d. 1253, while preaching, at the Pope's com- 
mand, a crusade against the Saracens. 

Reflection. — As a brother, as chancellor, and as bishop, 
St. Richard faithfully performed each duty of his state with- 
out a thought of his own interests. Neglect of duty is the 
first sign of that self-love which ends with the loss of grace. 



APRIL 4.— ST. ISIDORE, ARCHBISHOP. 

Isidore was born of a ducal family, at Carthagena in 
Spain. His two brothers, Leander, Archbishop of Seville, 
Fulgentius Bishop of Ecija, and his sister Florentina, are 
Saints. As a boy he despaired at his ill success in study, and 
ran away from school. Resting in his flight at a roadside 
spring, he observed a stone, which was hollowed out by the 
dripping water. This decided him to return, and by hard 
application he succeeded where he had failed. He went back 
to his master, and with the help of God became, even as a 
youth, one of the most learned men of the time. He assisted 
in converting Prince Recared, the leader of the Arian party ; 



April 4.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 1 89 

and with his aid, though at the constant peril of his own life, 
he expelled that heresy from Spain. Then, following a call 
from God, he turned a deaf ear to the entreaties of his 
friends, and embraced a hermit's life. Prince Recared and 
many of the nobles and clergy of Seville went to persuade 
him to come forth, and represented the needs of the times, 
and the good he could do, and had already done, among the 
people. He refused, and as far as we can judge, that refusal 




gave him the necessary opportunity of acquiring the virtue 
and the power which afterwards made him an illustrious 
Bishop and Doctor of the Church. On the death of his 
brother Leander, he was called to fill the vacant see. As a 
teacher, ruler, founder, and reformer, he labored not only in 
his own diocese, but throughout Spain, and even in foreign 
countries. He died in Seville on April 4th, 636, and within 
sixteen years of his death was declared a Doctor of the 
Catholic Church. 

Reflection. — The strength of temptation usually lies in 
the fact that its object is something flattering to our pride, 
soothing to our sloth, or in some way attractive to the 



190 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 5, 



meaner passions. St. Isidore teaches us to listen neither to 
the promptings of nature nor the plausible advice of friends 
when they contradict the voice of God. 



APRIL 5.— ST. VINCENT FERRER. 

This wonderful apostle, the " Angel of the Judgment," 
was born at Valencia in Spain, in 1350, and at the age of 
eighteen professed in the Order of St. Dominic. After a 
brilliant course of study, he became master of sacred 
theology. For three years he read only the Scriptures, and 




knew the whole Bible by heart. He converted the Jews of 
Valencia, and their synagogue became a church. Grief at 
the great schism then affecting the Church reduced him to 
the point of death ; but Our Lord Himself in glory bade him 
go forth to convert sinners, " for My judgment is nigh." 
This miraculous apostolate lasted twenty-one years. He 
preached throughout Europe, in the towns and villages of 
Spain, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scot- 



April 6.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



191 



land. Everywhere tens of thousands of sinners were 
reformed; Jews, infidels, and heretics were converted. Stu- 
pendous miracles enforced his words. Twice each day the 
" miracle bell " summoned the sick, the blind, the lame to be 
cured. Sinners the most obdurate became Saints ; speaking 
only his native Spanish, he was understood in all tongues. 
Processions of ten thousand penitents followed him in per- 
fect order. Convents, orphanages, hospitals arose in his 
path. Amidst all, his humility, remained profound, his prayer 
constant. He always prepared for preaching by prayer. 
Once, however, when a person of high rank was to be 
present at his sermon, he neglected prayer for study. The 
nobleman was not particularly struck by the discourse which 
had been thus carefully worked up ; but coming again to 
hear the Saint, unknown to the latter, the second sermon 
made a deep impression on his soul. When St. Vincent 
heard of the difference, he remarked that in the first sermon 
it was Vincent who had preached, but in the second, Jesus 
Christ. He fell ill at Vannes in Brittany, and received the 
crown of everlasting glory in 1419. 

Reflection. — " Whatever you do," said St. Vincent, 
" think not of yourself, but of God." In this spirit he 
preached, and God spoke by him; in this spirit, if we listen, 
we shall hear the voice of God. 



APRIL 6.— ST. CELESTINE, POPE. 

St. Celestine was a native of Rome, and upon the 
demise of Pope Boniface, he was chosen to succeed him, in 
September, 422, by the wonderful consent of the whole city. 
His first official act was to confirm the condemnation of an 
African Bishop, who had been convicted of grave crimes. 
He wrote also to the Bishops of the provinces of Vienne and 
Narbonne in Gaul, to correct several abuses, and ordered, 
among other things, that absolution or reconciliation should 
never be refused to any dying sinner who sincerely asked 
it; for repentance depends not so much on time as on the 



192 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 6. 



heart. He assembled a synod at Rome, in 430, in which the 
writings of Nestorius were examined, and his blasphemies in 
maintaining in Christ a divine and a human person were con- 
demned. The Pope pronounced sentence of excommunica- 
tion against Nestorius, and deposed him. Being informed 
that Agricola, the son of a British Bishop called Severi- 
anus, who had been married before he was raised to the 
priesthood, had spread the seeds of the Pelagian heresy in 




Britain, St. Celestine sent thither St. Germanus of Auxerre, 
whose zeal and conduct happily prevented the threatening 
danger. He also sent St. Palladius, a Roman, to preach the 
faith to the Scots, both in North Britain and in Ireland, and 
many authors of the life of St. Patrick say that Apostle like- 
wise received his commission to preach to the Irish from St. 
Celestine, in 431. This holy Pope died on the 1st of August, 
in 432, having reigned almost ten years. 

Reflection. — Vigilance is truly needful to those to 
whom the care of souls has been confided. " Blessed are 
the servants whom the Lord at His coming shall find 
watching." 



■*PRIL 7."| 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



r 92 



APRIL 7. — ST. HEGESIPPUS, A PRIMITIVE FATHER. 

He was by birth a Jew, and belonged to the Church of 
Jerusalem, but travelling to Rome, he lived there nearly 
twenty years, from the Pontificate of Anicetus to that of 
Ekutherius, in 177, when he returned into the East, where 
he died at an advanced age, probably at Jerusalem, in the 




year of Christ 180, according to the chronicle of Alexandria. 
He wrote in the year 133 a History of the Church in five 
books, from the Passion of Christ down to his own time, the 
loss of which work is extremely regretted. In it he gave 
illustrious proofs of his faith, and showed the Apostolical 
tradition, and that though certain men had disturbed the 
Church by broaching heresies, yet down to his time no epis- 
copal see or particular Church had fallen into error. This 
testimony he gave after having personally visited all the prin- 
cipal Churches, both of the East and West 



194 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 7. 



BLESSED HERMAN JOSEPH OF STEINFELD. 

Herman from his earliest years was a devoted client of 
the Mother of God. As a little child he used to spend all 
his play-time in the church at Cologne before an image of 
Mary, where he received many favors. One bitter winter 
day, as little Herman was coming barefooted into church, 
his heavenly Mother appearing to him, asked him lovingly 
why his feet were bare in such cold weather. " Alas ! dear 
Lady," he said, " it is because my parents are so poor." She 
pointed to a stone, telling him to look beneath it; there he 
found four silver pieces wherewith to buy shoes; he did not 
forget to return and thank her. She enjoined him to go to 
the same spot in all his wants, and disappeared. Never did 
the supply fail him; but his comrades, moved by a different 
spirit, could find nothing. Once Our Lady stretched out her 
hand and took an apple which the boy offered her in pledge 
of his love. Another time he saw her high up in the tribune, 
with the Holy Child and St. John; he longed to join them, 
but saw no way of doing so; suddenly he found himself 
placed by their side, and holding sweet converse with the 
Infant Jesus. At the age of twelve he entered the Premon- 
stratensian house at Steinfeld, and there led an angelic life 
of purity and prayer. His fellow-novices, seeing what graces 
he received from Mary, called him Joseph; and when he 
shrank from so high an honor, Our Lady in a vision took 
him as her spouse, and bade him bear the name. Jealously 
she reproved the smallest faults in her betrothed, and once 
appeared to him as an old woman to upbraid him for some 
slight want of devotion. As her dowry, she conferred on 
him the most cruel sufferings of mind and body, which were 
especially severe on the great feasts of the Church. But 
with the cross Mary brought him the grace to bear it bravely, 
and thus his heart was weaned from earthly things, and he 
was made ready ior his early and saintly death, which took 
place about the year 1230. 



A.PRIL 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



195 



Reflection. — Do not approach our Blessed Mother 
with set prayers only. Be intimate with her; confide in her; 
commend to her every want and every project, small as well 
as great. It is a childlike reliance and a trustful appeal 
which she delights to reward. 



APRIL 8.— ST. PERPETUUS, BISHOP. 



St: Perpetuus was the eighth bishop of Tours from St. 
Gatian, and governed that see above thirty years, from 461 
to 491, when he died on the 8th of April. During all that 




time he labored, by zealous sermons, many synods,* and 
wholesome regulations, to lead souls to virtue. St. Per- 
petuus had a great veneration for the Saints, and respect 
for their relics; adorned their shrines, and enriched their 
churches. As there was a continual succession of miracles 
at the tomb of St. Martin, Perpetuus finding the church built 
by St. Bricius too small for the concourse of people that 
resorted thither, directed its enlargement. When the build- 
ing was finished, the good bishop solemnized the dedication 



196 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 9. 



of this new church, and performed the translation of the body 
of St. Martin, on the 4th of July, in 473. Our Saint made 
and signed his last will, which is still extant, on the 1st of 
March, 475, fifteen years before his death. By it he remits 
all debts that were owing to him; and having bequeathed to 
his church his library and several farms, and settled a fund 
for the maintenance of lamps, and the purchase of sacred 
vessels, as occasion might require, he declares the poor his 
heirs. He adds most pathetic exhortations to concord and 
piety; and bequeaths to his sister, Fidia Julia Perpetua, a 
little gold cross, with relics; he leaves legacies to several 
other friends and priests, begging of each a remembrance of 
him in their prayers. His ancient epitaph equals him to the 
great St. Martin. 

Reflection. — The smart of poverty, says a spiritual 
writer, is allayed even more by one word of true sympathy 
than by the alms we give. Alms coldly and harshly given 
irritate rather than soothe. Even when we cannot give, 
words of kindness are as a precious balm; and when we can 
give, they are the salt and seasoning of our alms. 



APRIL 9. — ST. MARY OF EGYPT. 

At the tender age of twelve, Mary left her father's house 
that she might sin without restraint, and for seventeen years 
she lived in shame at Alexandria. Then she accompanied a 
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and entangled many in grievous 
sin. She was in that city on the Feast of the Exaltation of 
the Holy Cross, and went with the crowd to the church 
which contained the precious wood. The rest entered and 
adored ; but Mary was invisibly held back. In that instant 
her misery and pollution burst upon her. Turning to the 
Immaculate Mother, whose picture faced her in the porch, 
she vowed thenceforth to do penance if she might enter and 
stand like Magdalen beside the Cross. Then she entered in. 
As she knelt before Our Lady on leaving the church a voice 
came to her which said, " Pass over Jordan, and thou shalt 



April 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



197 



find rest." She went into the wilderness, and there, in 420, 
forty-seven years after, the Abbot Zosimus met her. She 
told him that for seventeen years the old songs and scenes 
had haunted her; ever since, she had had perfect peace. At 
her request he brought her on Holy Thursday the sacred 
Body of Christ. She bade him return again after a year, and 
this time he found her corpse upon the sand, with an inscrip - 
tion saying, " Bury here the body of Mary the sinner." 

Reflection. — Blessed John Colombini was converted to 
God by reading St. Mary's life. Let us, too, learn from her 
not to be content with confessing and lamenting our sins, but 
to fly from what leads us to commit them. 



ST. JOHN THE ALMONER. 

St. John was married, but when his wife and two children 
died, he considered it a call from God to lead a perfect life. 
He began to give away all he possessed in alms, and became 
known throughout the East as the Almoner. He was 
appointed Patriarch of Alexandria ; but before he would take 
possession of his see, he told his servants to go over the town 
and bring him a list of his lords — meaning the poor. They 
brought word there were seventy-five hundred of them, and 
these he undertook to feed every day. On Wednesday and 
Friday in very week he sat on a bench before the church, to 
hear the complaints of the needy and aggrieved ; nor would 
he permit his servants to taste food until their wrongs were 
redressed. The fear of death was ever before him, and he 
never spoke an idle word. He turned those out of church 
whom he saw talking, and forbade all detractors to enter his 
house. He left seventy churches in Alexandria, where he 
had found but seven. A merchant received from St. John 
five pounds' weight of gold to buy merchandise. Having 
suffered shipwreck, and lost all, he had again recourse to 
John, who said, " Some of your merchandise was ill-gotten," 
and gave him ten pounds more ; but the next voyage he lost 
ship as well as goods. John then said, " The ship was 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April io. 



wrongfully acquired. Take fifteen pounds of gold, buy corn 
with it, and put it on one of my ships." This time the mer- 
chant was carried by the winds without his own knowledge 
to England, where there was a famine; and he sold the corn 
for its weight in tin, and on his return he found the tin 




changed to finest silver. St. John died in Cyprus, his native 
place, about the year 619. 

Reflection. — What sacrifices can we make for the poor 
which will seem enough, when we reflect that mercy to them 
is our only means of repaying Jesus Christ, who sacrificed 
His life for us? 

APRIL 10.-ST. BADEMUS, MARTYR. 

Bademus was a rich and noble citizen of Bethlapeta, in 
Persia, who founded a monastery near that city, which he 
governed with great sanctity. He conducted his religious 
in the paths of perfection with sweetness, prudence, and 
charity. To crown his virtue, God permitted him, with seven 



April io.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



of his monks, to be apprehended by the followers of King 
Sapor, in the thirty-sixth year of his persecution. He lay 
four months in a dungeon, loaded with chains; during which 
lingering martyrdom he every day received a number of 
stripes. But he triumphed over his torments by the patience 
and joy with which he suffered them for Christ. At the 
same time, a Christian lord named Nersan, prince of Aria, 
was cast into prison because he refused to adore the sun. At 
first he showed some resolution ; but at the sight of tortures 




his constancy failed him, and he promised to conform. The 
king, to try if his change was sincere, ordered Bademus to be 
introduced into the prison of Nersan, which was a chamber 
in the royal palace, and sent word to Nersan that if he would 
despatch Bademus, he should be restored to his liberty and 
former dignities. The wretch accepted the condition; a 
sword was put into his hand, and he advanced to plunge it 
into the breast of the abbot. But being seized with a sudden 
terror, he stopped short, and remained some time without: 
being able to lift up his arm to strike. He had neither 
courage to repent, nor heart to accomplish his crime. He 



200 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April ii. 



strove, however, to harden himself, and continued with a 
trembling hand to aim at the sides of the martyr. Fear, 
shame, remorse, and respect for the martyr made his strokes 
forceless and unsteady ; and so great was the number of the 
martyr's wounds, that the bystanders were in admiration at 
his invincible patience. After four strokes, the martyr's head 
was severed from the trunk. Nersan, a short time after, 
falling into public disgrace, perished by the sword. The 
body of St. Bademus was reproachfully cast out of the city by 
the infidels ; but was secretly carried away and interred by the 
Christians. His disciples were released from their chains 
four years afterward upon the death of King Sapor. St. 
Bademus suffered on the ioth of April, in the year 376. 

Reflection. — Oh! what ravishing delights does the soul 
taste which is accustomed, by a familiar habit, to converse in 
the heaven of its own interior with the Three Persons of the 
adorable Trinity! Worldlings wonder how holy solitaries 
can pass their whole time buried in the most profound soli- 
tude and silence. But those who have had any experience 
of this happiness are surprised with far greater reason how 
it is possible that any souls which are created to converse 
eternally with God, should here live in constant dissipation, 
seldom entertaining a devout thought of Him whose charms 
and sweet conversation eternally ravish all the blessed. 



APRIL 11.— ST. LEO THE GREAT. 

Leo was born at Rome. He embraced the sacred min- 
istry, was made archdeacon of the Roman Church by St. 
Celestine, and under him and Sixtus III. had a large share in 
governing the Church. On the death of Sixtus, Leo was 
chosen Pope, and consecrated on St. Michael's day, 440, 
amid great joy. It was a time of terrible trial. Vandals 
and Huns were wasting the provinces of the empire, and 
Nestorians, Pelagians, and other heretics wrought more 
grievous havoc among souls. Whilst Leo's zeal made head 
against these perils, there arose the new heresy of Eutyches 



April ii.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



201 



who confounded the two natures of Christ. At once the 
vigilant pastor proclaimed the true doctrine of the Incarna- 
tion in his famous " tome; " but fostered by the Byzantine 
court, the heresy gained a strong hold amongst the Eastern 
monks and bishops. After three years of unceasing toil, 
Leo brought about its solemn condemnation by the Council 
of Chalcedon, the Fathers all signing his tome, and exclaim- 
ing, " Peter hath spoken by Leo." Soon after, Attila with 
his Huns broke into Italy, and marched through its burning 
cities upon Rome. Leo went out boldly to meet him, and 
prevailed on him to turn back. Astonished to see the terri- 
ble Attila, the " Scourge of God," fresh from the sack of 




Aquileia, Milan, Pavia, with the rich prize of Rome within 
his grasp, turn his great host back to the Danube at the 
Saint's word, his chiefs asked him why he had acted so 
strangely. He answered that he saw two venerable person- 
ages, supposed to be SS. Peter and Paul, standing behind 
Leo, and impressed by this vision he withdrew. If the perils 
of the Church are as great now as in St. Leo's day, St. Peter's 
solicitude is not less. Two years later the city fell a prey to 



202 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 12. 



the Vandals; but even then Leo saved it from destruction. 
He died a.d. 461, having ruled the Church twenty years. 

Reflection. — Leo loved to ascribe all the fruits of his 
unsparing labors to the glorious chief of the Apostles, who, 
he often declared, lives and governs in his successors. 

APRIL 12.— ST. JULIUS, POPE. 

St. Julius was a Roman, and chosen Pope on the 6th of 
February, in 337. The Arian bishops in the East sent to him 
three deputies to accuse St. Athanasius, the zealous patri- 




arch of Alexandria. These accusations, as the order of jus- 
tice required, Julius imparted to Athanasius, who thereupon 
sent his deputies to Rome ; when, upon an impartial hearing, 
the advocates of the heretics were confounded and silenced 
upon every article of their accusation. The Arians then de- 
manded a council, and the Pope assembled one in Rome in 
341. The Arians instead of appearing held a pretended 
council at Antioch in 341, in which they presumed to appoint 



April 13.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



203 



one Gregory, an impious Arian, bishop of Alexandria, 
detained the Pope's legates beyond the time mentioned for 
their appearance; and then wrote to his holiness, alleging a 
pretended impossibility of their appearing, on account of the 
Persian war and other impediments. The Pope easily saw 
through these pretences, and, in a council at Rome, exam- 
ined the cause of St. Athanasius, declared him innocent of 
the things laid to his charge by the Arians, and confirmed 
him in his see. He also acquitted Marcellus of Ancyra, upon 
his orthodox profession of faith. He drew up and sent by 
Count Gabian, to the Oriental Eusebian bishops, who had 
first demanded a council, and then refused to appear in it, 
an excellent letter, which is looked upon as one of the finest 
monuments of ecclesiastical antiquity. Finding the Euse- 
bians still obstinate, he moved Constans, emperor of the 
West, to demand the concurrence of his brother Constantius 
in the assembling of a general council at Sardica in Illyricum. 
This was opened in May, 347, and declared St. Athanasius 
and Marcellus of Ancyra orthodox and innocent, deposed 
certain Arian bishops, and framed twenty-one canons of dis- 
cipline. St. Julius reigned fifteen years, two months, and 
six days, dying on the 12th of April, 352. 



APRIL 13.— ST. HERMENEGILD, MARTYR. 

Leovigild, King of the Visigoths, had two sons, Her- 
menegild and Recared, who reigned conjointly with him. 
All three were Arians, but Hermenegild married a zealous 
Catholic, the daughter of Sigebert, King of France, and by 
her holy example was converted to the faith. His father, 
on hearing the news, denounced him as a traitor, and 
marched to seize his person. Hermenegild tried to rally 
the Catholics of Spain in his defence, but they were too weak 
to make any stand, and, after a two years' fruitless struggle, 
he surrendered on the assurance of a free pardon. When 
safely in the royal camp, the king had him loaded with fet- 
ters and cast into a foul dungeon at Seville. Tortures and 
bribes were in turn employed to shake his faith, but Her- 



204 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 13. 



menegild wrote to his father that he held the crown as noth- 
ing, and preferred to lose sceptre and life rather than betray 
the truth of God. At length, on Easter night, an Arian 
bishop entered his cell, and promised him his father's pardon 
if he would but receive Communion at his hands. Hermene- 
gild indignantly rejected the offer, and knelt with joy for his 
death-stroke. The same night a light streaming from his 
cell told the Christians who were watching near that the 




martyr had won his crown, and was keeping his Easter with 
the Saints in glory. 

Leovigild, on his death-bed, though still an Arian, bade 
Recared seek out St. Leander, whom he had himself cruelly 
persecuted, and, following Hermenegild's example, be re- 
ceived by him into the Church. Recared did so, and on his 
father's death labored so earnestly for the extirpation of 
Arianism that he brought over the whole nation of the Visi- 
goths to the Church. " Nor is it to be wondered," says St. 
Gregory, " that he came thus to be a preacher of the true 
faith, seeing that he was brother of a martyr, whose merits 
did help him to bring so many into the lap of God's Church." 



April 14.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



205 



Reflection. — St. Hermenegild teaches us that con- 
stancy and sacrifice are the best arguments for the Faith, 
and the surest way to win souls to God. 

APRIL 14.— ST. BENEZET, OR LITTLE BENNET. 

St. Benezet kept his mother's sheep in the country, and 
as a mere child was devoted to practices of piety. As many 
persons were drowned in crossing the Rhone, Benezet was 
inspired by God to build a bridge over that rapid river at 




Avignon. He obtained the approbation of the bishop, 
proved his mission by miracles, and began the work in 11 77, 
w T hich he directed during seven years. He died when the 
difficulty of the undertaking was over, in 11 84. This is at- 
tested by public monuments drawn up at that time and still 
preserved at Avignon, where the story is in everybody's 
mouth. His body was buried upon the bridge itself, which 
was not completely finished till four years after his decease, 
the structure whereof was attended with miracles from the 
first laying of the foundations till it was completed in 1x88. 



206 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 15. 



Other miracles wrought after this at his tomb induced the 
city to build a chapel upon the bridge, in which his body lay 
nearly five hundred years. But in 1669, a greater part of the 
bridge falling down through the impetuosity of the waters, 
the coffin was taken up, and being opened in 1670 in presence 
of the grand vicar, during the vacancy of the archiepiscopal 
see, the body was found entire, without the least sign of cor- 
ruption ; even the bowels were perfectly sound, and the color 
of the eyes lively and sprightly, though, through the damp- 
ness of the situation, the iron bars about the coffin were 
much damaged with rust. The body was found in the same 
condition by the Archbishop of Avignon in 1674, when, 
accompanied by the Bishop of Orange and a great concourse 
of nobility, he , performed the translation of it, with great 
pomp, into the church of the Celestines, this Order having 
obtained of Louis XIV. the honor of being intrusted with 
the relics, till such time as the bridge and chapel should be 
rebuilt. 

Reflection. — Let us pray for perseverance in good 
works. St. Augustine says, " When the Saints pray in the 
words which Christ taught, they ask for little else than the 
gift of perseverance." 

APRIL 15.— ST. PATERNUS, BISHOP. 

St. Paternus was born at Poitiers, about the year 482. 
His father, Patranus, with the consent of his wife, went into 
Ireland, where he ended his days in holy solitude. Paternus, 
fired by his example, embraced a monastic life in the abbey 
of Marnes. After some time, burning with a desire of attain- 
ing to the perfection of Christian virtue, he passed over to 
Wales, and in Cardiganshire founded a monastery called 
Llanpatern-vaur, or the church of the great Paternus. He 
made a visit to his father in Ireland ; but being called back 
to his monastery of Marnes, he soon after retired with St. 
Scubilion, a monk of that house, and embraced an austere 
anchoretical life in the forests of Scicy, in the diocese of 
Coutances, near the sea, having first obtained leave of the 



KVRIL 15.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



207 



bishop and of the lord of the place. This desert, which was 
then of great extent, but which has been since gradually 
gained upon by the sea, was anciently in great request among 
the Druids. St. Paternus converted to the faith the idolaters 
of that and many neighboring parts, as far as Bayeux, and 
prevailed upon them to demolish a pagan temple in this 
desert, which was held in great veneration by the ancient 




Gauls. In his old age he was consecrated bishop of 
Avranches by Germanus, Bishop of Rouen. 

Some false brethren having created a division of opinion 
among the bishops of the province with respect to St. Pater- 
nus, he preferred retiring rather than to afford any ground 
for dissension, and, after governing his diocese for thirteen 
years, he withdrew to a solitude in France, and there ended 
his days about the year 550. 

Reflection. — The greatest sacrifices imposed by the 
love of peace will appear as naught if we call to mind the 
example of our Saviour, and remember His words, " Blessed 
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of 
God." 



208 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 16. 



APRIL 16. — EIGHTEEN MARTYRS OF SARAGOSSA, AND 
ST. ENCRATIS, OR ENGRATIA, VIRGIN MARTYR. 

St. Optatus and seventeen other holy men received the 
crown of martyrdom on the same day, at Saragossa, under 
the cruel Governor Dacian, in the persecution of Diocletian, 




in 304. Two others, Caius and Crementius, died of their 
torments after a second conflict. 

The Church also celebrates on this day the triumph of St. 
Encratis, or Engratia, Virgin. She was a native of Portu- 
gal. Her father had promised her in marriage to a man of 
quality in Rousillon ; but, fearing the dangers, and despising 
the vanities of the world, and resolving to preserve her vir- 
ginity, in order to appear more agreeable to her heavenly 
spouse, and serve Him without hinderance, she stole from 
her father's house and fled privately to Saragossa, where the 
persecution was hottest, under the eyes of Dacian. She 
even reproached him with his barbarities, upon which he 
ordered her to be long tormented in the most inhuman 



April 17.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



209 



manner : her sides were torn with iron hooks, and one of her 
breasts was cut off, so that the inner parts of her chest were 
exposed to view, and part of her liver was pulled out. In 
this condition she was sent back to prison, being still alive, 
and died by the mortifying of her wounds, in 304. The relics 
of all these martyrs were found at Saragossa in 1389. 

Reflection. — Men do not pursue temporal goods at 
haphazard, or by fits and starts. Let us be as punctual and 
orderly in the service of God, not casting about for new 
paths, but perfecting our ordinary devotions. If we perse- 
vere in these, Paradise is ours. 



APRIL 17.— ST. ANICETUS POPE, MARTYR. 



St. Anicetus succeeded St. Pius, and sat about eight 
years, from 165 to 173. If he did not shed his blood for the 




faith, be at least purchased the title of martyr by great suf- 
ferings and dangers. He received a visit from St. Polycarp, 
and tolerated the custom of the Asiatics in celebrating Easter 
on the 14th day of the first moon after the vernal equinox, 



2IO 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 18. 



with the Jews. His vigilance protected his flock from the 
wiles of the heretics, Valentine and Marcion, who sought to 
corrupt the faith in the capital of the world. 

The thirty-six first bishops at Rome, down to Liberius, 
and, this one excepted, all the popes to Symmachus, the fifty- 
second, in 498, are honored among the Saints; and out of 
two hundred and forty-eight popes, from St. Peter to 
Clement XIII. , seventy-eight are named in the Roman 
Martyrology. In the primitive ages, the spirit of fervor and 
perfect sanctity, which is nowadays so rarely to be found, was 
conspicuous in most of the faithful, and especially in their 
pastors. The whole tenor of their lives breathed it in such a 
manner as to render them the miracles of the world, angels 
on earth, living copies of their divine Redeemer, the odor of 
whose virtues and holy law and religion they spread on every 
side. 

Reflection. — If, after making the most solemn protes- 
tations of inviolable friendship and affection for a fellow- 
creature, we should the next moment revile and contemn 
him, without having received any provocation or affront, and 
this habitually, would not the whole world justly call our 
protestations hypocrisy, and our pretended friendship a 
mockery? Let us by this rule judge if our love of God be 
sovereign, so long as our inconstancy betrays the insincerity 
of our hearts. 



APRIL 18.— ST. APOLLONIUS, MARTYR. 

Marcus Aurelius had persecuted the Christians, but his 
son, Commodus, who, in 180, succeeded him, showed him- 
self favorable to them out of regard to his Empress Marcia, 
who was an admirer of the faith. During this calm, the num- 
ber of the faithful was exceedingly increased, and many per- 
sons of the first rank, among them Apollonius, a Roman 
senator, enlisted themselves under the banner of the cross. 
He was a person very well versed both in philosophy and the 
holy Scripture. In the midst of the peace which the Church 



April 18.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



211 



enjoyed, he was publicly accused of Christianity by one of his 
own slaves. The slave was immediately condemned to have 
his legs broken, and to be put to death, in consequence of an 
edict of Marcus Aureiius, wno, without repealing the former 
laws against convicted Christians, ordered by it that their 
accusers should be put to deatn. The slave being executed, 
the same judge sent an order to St. Apollonius to renounce 
his religion as he valued his life and fortune. The Saint 




courageously rejected such ignominious terms of safety, 
wherefore Perennis referred him to the judgment of the 
Roman senate, to give an account of his faith to that body. 
Persisting in his refusal to comply with the condition, the 
Saint was condemned by a decree of the Senate, and 
beheaded about the year 186. 

Reflection. — It is the prerogative of the Christian 
religion to inspire men with such resolution, and form them 
to such heroism, that they rejoice to sacrifice their life to 
truth. This is not the bare force and exertion of nature, but 
the undoubted power of the Almighty, whose strength is thus 
made perfect in weakness. Every Christian ought, by his 



212 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 19. 



manners, to bear witness to the sanctity of his faith. Such 
would be the force of universal good example, that no liber- 
tine or infidel could withstand it. 



APRIL 19. -ST. ELPHEGE, ARCHBISHOP. 

St. Elphege was born in the year 954 of a noble Saxon 
family. He first became a monk in the monastery of Deer- 
hurst, near Tewkesbury, England, and afterwards lived as a 
hermit near Bath, where he founded a community under the 




rule of St. Benedict, and became its first abbot. At thirty 
years of age he was chosen Bishop of Winchester, and 
twenty-two years later he became Archbishop of Canterbury. 
In 101 1, when the Danes landed in Kent, and took the city of 
Canterbury, putting all to fire and sword, St. Elphege was 
captured and carried off in the expectation of a large ransom. 
He was unwilling that his ruined church and people should 
be put to such expense, and was kept in a loathsome prison 
at Greenwich for seven months. While so confined, some 



April 20.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



213 



friends came and urged him to lay a tax upon his tenants to 
raise the sum demanded for his ransom. " What reward can 
I hope for," said he, " if I spend upon myself what belongs to 
the poor? Better give up to the poor what is ours, than 
take from them the little which is their own." As he still 
refused to give ransom, the enraged Danes fell upon him in a 
fury, beat him with the blunt sides of their weapons, and 
bruised him with stones until one, whom the Saint had bap- 
tized shortly before, put an end to his sufferings by the blow 
of an axe. He died on Easter Saturday, April 19th, 1012, 
his last words being a prayer for his murderers. His body 
was first buried in St. Paul's, London, but was afterwards 
translated to Canterbury by King Canute. A church dedi- 
cated to St. Elphege still stands upon the place of his 
martyrdom at Greenwich. 

Reflection. — Those who are in high positions should 
consider themselves as stewards rather than masters of the 
wealth or power intrusted to them for the benefit of the poor 
and weak. St. Elphege died rather than extort his ransom 
from the poor tenants of the Church lands. 



APRIL 20.— ST. MARCELLINUS, BISHOP. 

St. Marcellinus was born in Africa, of a noble family; 
accompanied by Vincent and Domninus, he went over into 
Gaul, and there preached the Gospel, with great success, in 
the neighborhood of the Alps. He afterwards settled at 
Embrun, where he built a chapel in which he passed his nights 
in prayer, after laboring all the day in the exercise of his 
sacred calling. By his pious example as well as by his ear- 
nest words, he converted many of the heathens among whom 
he lived. He was afterwards made bishop of the people 
whom he had won over to Christ, but the date of his conse- 
cration is not positively known. Burning with zeal for the 
glory of God, he sent Vincent and Domninus to preach the 
faith in those parts which he could not visit in person. He 
died at Embrun about the year 374, and was there interred. 



214 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 21 



St. Gregory of Tours, who speaks of Marcellinus in terms of 
highest praise, mentions many miracles as happening at his 
tomb. 




Reflection. — Though you may not be called upon to 
preach, at least endeavor to set a good example, remember- 
ing that deeds often speak louder than words. 



APRIL 21.— ST. ANSELM, ARCHBISHOP. 

Anselm was a native of Piedmont. When a boy of fif- 
teen, being forbidden to enter religion, he for a while lost his 
fervor, left his home, and went to various schools in France. 
At length his vocation revived, and he became a monk at Bee 
in Normandy. The fame of his sanctity in this cloister led 
William Rufus, when dangerously ill, to take him for his con- 
fessor, and to name him to the vacant see of Canterbury. 
Now began the strife of Anselm's life. With new health the 
king relapsed into his former sins, plundered the Church 
lands, scorned the archbishop's rebukes, and forbade him to 



April 21.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



215 



go to Rome for the pallium. Anselm went, and returned 
only to enter into a more bitter strife with William's succes- 
sor, Henry I. This sovereign claimed the right of investing 
prelates with the ring and crozier, symbols of the spiritual 
jurisdiction which belongs to the Church alone. The worldly 
prelates did not scruple to call St. Anselm a traitor for his 
defence of the Pope's supremacy; on which the Saint rose, 
and with calm dignity exclaimed, " If any man pretends that 
I violate my faith to my king because I will not reject the 
authority of the Holy See of Rome, let him stand forth and 
in the name of God I will answer him as I ought." No one 




took up the challenge ; and to the disappointment of the king, 
the barons sided with the Saint, for they respected his cour- 
age, and saw that his cause was their own. Sooner than 
yield, the archbishop went again into exile, till at last the 
king was obliged to submit to the feeble but inflexible old 
man. In the midst of his harassing cares, St. Anselm found 
time for writings which have made him celebrated as the 
father of scholastic theology; while in metaphysics and in 
science he had few eqauls. He is yet more famous for his 



2l6 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [April 2 2. 

devotion to our Blessed Lady, whose Feast of the Immac- 
ulate Conception he was the first to establish in the West. 
He died a.d. 1109. 

Reflection. — Whoever, like St. Anselm, contends for 
the Church's rights, is fighting on the side of God against the 
tyranny of Satan. 



APRIL 22.— ST. SOTER, POPE, MARTYR. 

St. Soter was raised, to the papacy upon the death of St. 
Anicetus, in 173. By the sweetness of his discourses, he 
comforted all persons with the tenderness of a father, and 
assisted the indigent with liberal alms, especially those who 
suffered for the faith. He liberally extended his charities, 
according to the custom of his predecessors, to remote 
churches, particularly to that of Corinth, to whicli he 
addressed an excellent letter, as St. Dionysius of Corinth 
testifies in his letter of thanks, who adds that his letter was 
found worthy to be read for their edification on Sundays at 
their assemblies to celebrate the divine mysteries, together 
with the letter of St. Clement, pope. St. Soter vigorously 
opposed the heresy of Montanus, and governed the Church 
to the year 177. 



ST. LEONIDES, MARTYR. 

The emperor Severus, in the year 202, which was the 
tenth of his reign, raised a bloody persecution, which filled 
the whole empire with martyrs, but especially Egypt. The 
most illustrious of those who, by their triumphs, ennobled 
and edified the city of Alexandria, was Leonides, father of 
the great Origen. He was a Christian philosopher, and excel- 
lently versed both in the profane and sacred sciences. He 
had seven sons, the eldest of whom was Origen, whom he 
brought up with abundance of care, returning God thanks for 
having blessed him with a son of such an excellent disposi- 



April 22.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



217 



tion for learning, and a very great zeal for piety. These 
qualifications endeared him greatly to his father, who, after 
his son was baptized, would come to his bedside while he 
was asleep, and, opening his bosom, kiss it respectfully, as 
being the temple of the Holy Ghost. When the persecution 
raged at Alexandria, under Lsetus, governor of Egypt, in the 
tenth year of Severus, Leonides was cast into prison. Origen, 
who was then only seventeen years of age, burned with an 
incredible desire of martyrdom, and sought every oppor- 




tunity of meeting with it. But his mother conjured him not 
to forsake her, and his ardor being redoubled at the sight of 
his father's chains, she was forced to lock up all his clothes to 
oblige him to stay at home. So not being able to do any 
more, he wrote a letter to his father in very moving terms, 
strongly exhorting him to look on the crown that was offered 
him with courage and joy, adding this clause, " Take heed, 
Sir, that for our sakes you do not change your mind." Le- 
onides was accordingly beheaded for the faith in 202. His 
estates and goods being all confiscated, and seized for the 
emperor's use, his widow was left with seven children to 



218 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 23. 



maintain in the poorest condition imaginable; but Divine 
Providence was both her comfort and support. 



APRIL 23.— ST. GEORGE, MARTYR. 

St. George was born in Cappadocia, at the close of the 
third century, of Christian parents. In early youth he chose 
a soldier's life, and soon obtained the favor of Diocletian, 
who advanced him to the grade of tribune. When, however, 




the Emperor began to persecute the Christians, George 
rebuked him at once sternly and openly for his cruelty, and 
threw up his commission. He was in consequence subjected 
to a lengthened series of torments, and finally beheaded. 
There was something so inspiriting in the defiant cheerful- 
ness of the young soldier that every Christian felt a personal 
share in this triumph of Christian fortitude; and as years 
rolled on, St. George became a type of successful combat 
against evil, the slayer of the dragon, the darling theme of 
camp song and story, until " so thick a shade his very glory 



• 



April 24.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



219 



round him made " that his real lineaments became hard to 
trace. Even beyond the circle of Christendom he was held 
in honor, and invading Saracens taught themselves to except 
from desecration the image of him they hailed as the "White- 
horsed Knight." The devotion to St. George is one of the 
most ancient and widely spread in the Church. In the East, a 
church of St. George is ascribed to Constantine, and his 
name is invoked in the most ancient liturgies; whilst in the 
West, Malta, Barcelona, Valencia, Arragon, Genoa, and 
England have chosen him as their patron. 

Reflection. — " What shall I say of fortitude, without 
which neither wisdom nor justice is of any worth? Forti- 
tude is not of the body, but is a constancy of soul ; wherewith 
we are conquerors in righteousness, patiently bear all adver- 
sities, and in prosperity are not puffed up. This fortitude 
he lacks who is overcome by pride, anger, greed, drunken- 
ness, and the like. Neither have they fortitude who when 
in adversity make shift to escape at their souls' expense; 
wherefore the Lord saith, ' Fear not those who kill the body, 
but cannot kill the soul.' In like manner those who are 
puffed up in prosperity and abandon themselves to exces- 
sive joviality cannot be called strong. For how can they be 
called strong who cannot hide and repress the heart's emo- 
tion? Fortitude is never conquered, or if conquered, is not 
fortitude." — St. Bruno. 

APRIL 24.— ST. FLDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN. 

Fidelis was born at Sigmaringen in 1577, of noble par- 
ents. In his youth he frequently approached the Sacra- 
ments, visited the sick and the poor, and spent moreover 
many hours before the altar. For a time he followed the 
legal profession, and was remarkable for his advocacy of the 
poor and his respectful language towards his opponents. 
Finding it difficult to become both a rich lawyer and a good 
Christian, Fidelis entered the Capuchin Order, and embraced 
a life of austerity and prayer. Hair shirts, iron-pointed 
girdles, and disciplines were penances too light for his fervor, 



220 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 24. 



and being filled with a desire of martyrdom, he rejoiced at 
being sent to Switzerland by the newly-founded Congrega- 
tion of Propaganda, and braved every peril to rescue souls 
from the diabolical heresy of Calvin. When preaching at 
Sevis, he was fired at by a Calvinist, but the fear of death 
could not deter him from proclaiming divine truth. After 
his sermon, he was waylaid by a body of Protestants headed 
by a minister, who attacked him and tried to force him to 




embrace their so-called reform. But he said, " I came to 
refute your errors, not to embrace them; I will never 
renounce Catholic doctrine, which is the truth of all ages, 
and I fear not death." On this they fell upon him with their 
poignards, and the first martyr of Propaganda went to 
receive his palm. 

Reflection. — We delight in decorating the altars of 
God with flowers, lights, and jewels, and it is right to do 
so; but if we wish to offer to God gifts of higher value, let 
us, in imitation of St. Fidelis, save the souls who but for us 
would be lost; for so we shall offer him, as it were, the jewels 
of Paradise. 



April 25.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



221 



APRIL 25.— ST. MARK, EVANGELIST. 

St. Mark was converted to the faith by the Prince of 
the Apostles, whom he afterwards accompanied to Rome, 
acting there as his secretary or interpreter. When St. Peter 
was writing his first Epistle to the Churches of Asia, he 
affectionately joins with his own salutation that of his faith- 




ful companion, whom he calls " my son Mark." The Roman 
people entreated St. Mark to put in writing for them the 
substance of St. Peter's frequent discourses on Our Lord's 
life. This the Evangelist did under the eye and with the 
express sanction of the Apostle, and every page of his brief 
but graphic Gospel so bore the impress of St. Peter's char- 
acter, that the Fathers used to name it " Peter's Gospel." 
St. Mark was now sent to Egypt to found the Church of 
Alexandria. Here his disciples became the wonder of the 
world for their piety and asceticism, so that St. Jerome 
speaks of St. Mark as the father of the anchorites, who at 
a later time thronged the Egyptian deserts. Here too he 



222 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 26. 



set up the first Christian school, the fruitful mother of many 
illustrious doctors and bishops. After governing his see for 
many years, St. Mark was one day seized by the heathen, 
dragged by ropes over stones, and thrown into prison. On 
the morrow the torture was repeated, and having been con- 
soled by a vision of angels and the voice of Jesus, St. Mark 
went to his reward. 

It is to St. Mark that we owe the many slight touches 
which often give such vivid coloring to the Gospel scenes, 
and help us to picture to ourselves the very gestures and 
looks of Our Blessed Lord. It is he alone who notes that 
in the Temptation Jesus was " with the beasts;" that He 
slept in the boat " on a pillow ; " that He " embraced " the 
little children. He alone preserves for us the commanding 
words " Peace, be still!" by which the storm was quelled; 
or even the very sounds of His voice, the " Ephphetha " and 
" Talitha cumi," by which the dumb were made to speak 
and the dead to rise. So too the " looking round about with 
anger," and the " sighing deeply," long treasured in the 
memory of the penitent Apostle, who was himself converted 
by his Saviour's look, are here recorded by his faithful inter- 
preter. 

Reflection. — Learn from St. Mark to keep the image 
of the Son of Man ever before your mind, and to ponder 
every syllable which fell from His lips. 

APRIL 26.— SS. CLETUS AND MARCELLINUS, POPES, 

MARTYRS 

St. Cletus was the third Bishop of Rome, and succeeded 
St. Linus, which circumstance alone shows his eminent vir- 
tue among the first disciples of St. Peter in the West. He 
sat twelve years, from 76 to 89. The canon of the Roman 
mass, Bede, and other martyrologists style him a martyr. 
He was buried near St. Linus, on the Vatican, and his relics 
still remain in that church. 

St. Marcellinus succeeded St. Caius in the Bishopric of 
Rome in 296, about the time that Diocletian set himself up 



April 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



223 



for a deity, and impiously claimed divine honors. In those 
stormy times of persecution, Marcellinus acquired great 
glory. He sat in St. Peter's chair eight years, three months, 
and twenty-five days, dying in 304, a year after the cruel 
persecution broke out, in which he gained much honor. He 
has been styled a martyr, though his blood was not shed in 
the cause of religion. 




Reflection. — It is a fundamental maxim of the Christian 
morality, and a truth which Christ has established in the 
clearest terms, and in innumerable passages of the Gospel, 
that the cross or sufferings and mortification are the road to 
eternal bliss. They, therefore, who lead not here a crucified 
and mortified life, are unworthy ever to possess the unspeak- 
able joys of His kingdom. Our Lord himself, our model and 
our head, walked in this path, and His great Apostle puts us 
in mind that he entered into bliss only by his blood and by 
the cross. 



224 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 2j a 



APRIL 27.— ST. ZITA, VIRGIN. 

Zita lived for forty-eight years in the service of Fatinelli, 
a citizen of Lucca. During this time she rose each morning, 
while the household were asleep, to hear Mass, and then 
toiled incessantly till night came, doing the work of others as 
well as her own. Once Zita, absorbed in prayer, remained 




in church past the usual hour of her bread-making. She 
hastened home, reproaching herself with neglect of duty, and 
found the bread made and ready for the oven. She never 
doubted that her mistress or one of her servants had kneaded 
it, and going to them, thanked them ; but they were aston- 
ished. No human being had made the bread. A delicious 
perfume rose from it, for angels had made it during her 
prayer. For years her master and mistress treated her as 
a mere drudge, while her fellow-servants, resenting her 
diligence as a reproach to themselves, insulted and struck 
her. Zita united these sufferings with those of Christ her 
Lord, never changing the sweet tone of her voice, nor for- 



A.PRIL 28.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



225 



getting her gentle and quiet ways. At length Fatinelli, 
seeing the success which attended her undertakings, gave 
her charge of his children and of the household. She dreaded 
this dignity more than the worst humiliation, but scrupu- 
lously fulfilled her trust. By her holy economy her master's 
goods were multiplied, while the poor were fed at his door. 
Gradually her unfailing patience conquered the jealousy of 
her fellow-servants, and she became their advocate with their 
hot-tempered master, who dared not give way to his anger 
before Zita. In the end her prayer and toil sanctified the 
whole house, and drew down upon it the benediction of 
Heaven. She died a.d. 1272, and in the moment of her 
death a bright star appearing above her attic showed that 
she had gained eternal rest. 

Reflection. — " What must I do to be saved? " said a 
certain one in fear of damnation. " Work and pray, pray 
and work," a voice replied, " and thou shalt be saved." The 
whole life of St. Zita teaches us this truth. 



APRIL 28.— ST. PAUL OF THE CROSS. 

The eighty-one years of this Saint's life were modelled 
on the Passion of Jesus Christ. In his childhood, when pray- 
ing in church, a heavy bench fell on his foot, but the boy took 
no notice of the bleeding wound, and spoke of it as " a rose 
sent from God." A few years later, the vision of a scourge 
with " love " written on its lashes assured him that his thirst 
for penance would be satisfied. In the hope of dying for the 
Faith, he enlisted in a crusade against the Turks ; but a voice 
from the Tabernacle warned him that he was to serve Christ 
alone, and that he should found a congregation in His honor. 
At the command of his bishop he began while a layman to 
preach the Passion, and a series of crosses tried the reality of 
his vocation. All his first companions, save his brother, 
deserted him ; the Sovereign Pontiff refused him an audience; 
and it was only after a delay of seventeen years that the Papal 
approbation was obtained, and the first house of the Pas- 



226 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 28, 



sionists was opened on Monte Argentario, the spot which 
Our Lady had pointed out. St. Paul chose as the badge of 
his Order a heart with three nails, in memory of the suffer- 
ings of Jesus, but for himself he invented a more secret and 
durable sign. Moved by the same holy impulse as Blessed 
Henry Suso, St. Jane Frances, and other Saints, he branded 
on his side the Holy Name, and its characters were found 
there after death. His heart beat with a supernatural palpi- 
heat at times was so intense as to scorch his shirt in the 
tation, which was especially vehement on Fridays, and the 
region of his heart. Through fifty years of incessant bodily 
pain, and amidst all his trials, Paul read the love of Jesus 
everywhere, and would cry out to the flowers and grass, 
" Oh! be quiet, be quiet," as if they were reproaching him 
with ingratitude. He died whilst the Passion was being read 
to him, and so passed with Jesus from the cross to glory. 

ST. VITALIS, MARTYR. 

St. Vitalis was a citizen of Milan, and is said to have 
been the father of SS. Gervasius and Protasius. The divine 
providence conducted him to Ravenna, where he saw a Chris- 
tian named Ursicinus, who was condemned to lose his head 
for his faith, standing aghast at the sight of death, and seem- 
ing ready to yield. Vitalis was extremely moved at this 
spectacle. He knew his double obligation of preferring the 
glory of God and the eternal salvation of his neighbor to his 
own corporal life: he therefore boldly and successfully 
encouraged Ursicinus to triumph over death, and after his 
martyrdom, carried off his body, and respectfully interred it. 
The judge, whose name was Paulinus, being informed of this, 
caused Vitalis to be apprehended, stretched on the rack, and, 
after other torments, to be buried alive in a place called the 
Palm-tree, in Ravenna. His wife, Valeria, returning from 
Ravenna to Milan, was beaten to death by peasants, because 
she refused to join them in an idolatrous festival and riot. 

Reflection. — We are not all called to the sacrifice of 
martyrdom; but we are all bound to make our lives a con- 



April 29."] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



227 




tinued sacrifice of ourselves to God, and to perform every 
action in this perfect spirit of sacrifice. Thus we shall both 
live and die to God, perfectly resigned to His holy will in all 
His appointments. 

APRIL 29. — ST. PETER, MARTYR. 

In 1205 the glorious martyr Peter was born at Verona of 
heretical parents. He went to a Catholic school, and his 
Manichean uncle asked what he learnt. " The Creed," 
answered Peter; " I believe in God, Creator of heaven and 
earth." No persuasion could shake his faith, and at fifteen 
he received the habit from St. Dominic himself at Bologna. 
After ordination, he preached to the heretics of Lombardy, 
and converted multitudes. St. Peter was constantly obliged 
to dispute with heretics, and although he was able to con- 
found them, still the devil took occasion thence to tempt him 
once against faith. Instantly he had recourse to prayer be- 
fore an image of Our Lady, and heard a voice saying to him 
the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel, " I have prayed for 
thee, Peter, that thy faith may not fail ; and thou shalt con- 



228 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 29. 



firm thy brethren in it." Once when exhorting a vast crowd 
under the burning sun, the heretics defied him to procure 
shade. He prayed, and a cloud overshadowed the audience. 
In spite of his sanctity, he was foully slandered and even 
punished for immorality. He submitted humbly, but com- 
plained in prayer to Jesus crucified. The crucifix spoke, 
" And I, Peter, what did I do? " Every day, as he elevated 
at Mass the Precious Blood, he prayed, " Grant, Lord, that I 
may die for Thee, who for me didst die." His prayer was 
answered. The heretics, confounded by him, sought his 
life. Two of them attacked him as he was returning to 
Milan, and struck his head with an axe. St. Peter fell, com- 
mended himself to God, dipped his finger in his own blood, 
and wrote on the ground, " I believe in God, Creator of 
heaven and earth." They then stabbed him in the side, and 
he received his crown. 

Reflection. — From a boy St. Peter boldly professed 
his faith amongst heretics. He spent his life in preaching 
the Faith to heretics, and received the glorious and long- 
desired crown of martyrdom from heretics. We are sur- 
rounded by heretics. Are we courageous, firm, zealous, full 
of prayer for their conversion, unflinching in our profession 
of faith? 



ST. HUGH, ABBOT OF CLUNI. 

St. Hugh was a prince related to the sovereign house 
of the dukes of Burgundy, and had his education under the 
tuition of his pious mother, and under the care of Hugh, 
bishop of Auxerre, his great-uncle. From his infancy he 
was exceedingly given to prayer and meditation, and his life 
was remarkably innocent and holy. One day hearing an 
account of the wonderful sanctity of the monks of Cluni, 
under St. Odilo, he was so moved that he set out that 
moment, and going thither, humbly begged the monastic 
habit. After a rigid novitiate, he made his profession in 
1039, being sixteen years old. His extraordinary virtue,. 



April 30.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



especially his admirable humility, obedience, charity, sweet- 
ness, prudence, and zeal, gained him the respect of the whole 
community; and upon the death of Saint Odilo, in 1049, 
though only twenty-five years old, he succeeded to the gov- 
ernment of that great abbey, which he held sixty-two years. 




He received to the religious profession Hugh, duke of Bur- 
gundy, and died on the twenty-ninth of April, in 1109, aged 
eighty-five. He was canonized twelve years after his death 
by Pope Calixtus II. 

APRIL 30.— ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA. 

Catherine, the daughter of a humble tradesman, was 
raised up to be the guide and guardian of the Church in one 
of the darkest periods of its history, the fourteenth century. 
As a child, prayer was her delight. She would say the " Hail 
Mary " on each step as she mounted the stairs, and was 
granted in reward a vision of Christ in glory. When but 
seven years old, she made a vow of virginity, and afterwards 
endured bitter persecution for refusing to marry. Our Lord 



230 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[April 30. 



gave her His Heart m exchange for her own, communicated 
her with His own hands, and stamped on her body the print 
of His wounds. At the age of fifteen she entered the Third 
Order of St. Dominic, but continued to reside in her father's 
shop, where she united a life of active charity with the prayer 
of a contemplative Saint. From this obscure home the 
seraphic virgin was summoned to defend the Church's cause. 
Armed with Papal authority, and accompanied by three con- 




fessors, she travelled through Italy, reducing rebellious cit- 
ies to the obedience of the Holy See, and winning hardened 
souls to God. In the face well-nigh of the whole world she 
sought out Gregory XL at Avignon, brought him back to 
Rome, and by her letters to the kings and queens of Europe 
made good the Papal cause. She was the counsellor of 
Urban VI., and sternly rebuked the disloyal cardinals who 
had part in electing an Anti-pope. Long had the holy virgin 
foretold the terrible schism which began ere she died. Day 
and night she wept and prayed for unity and peace. But 
the devil excited the Roman people against the Pope, so 
that some sought the life of Christ's Vicar. With intense 



May i.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



231 



earnestness did St. Catherine beg Our Lord to prevent this 
enormous crime. In spirit she saw the whole city full of 
demons tempting the people to resist and even slay the Pope. 
The seditious temper was subdued by Catherine's prayers; 
but the devils vented their malice by scourging the Saint her- 
self, who gladly endured all for God and His Church. She 
died at Rome at the age of thirty-three, a.d. 1380. 

Reflection. — The seraphic St. Catherine willingly sac- 
rificed the delights of contemplation to labor for the Church 
and the Apostolic See. How deeply do the troubles of the 
Church and the consequent loss of souls afflict us? How 
often do we pray for the Church and the Pope? 



MAY 1.— SS. PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES. 

Philip was one of the first chosen disciples of Christ. 
On the way from Judaea to Galilee, Our Lord found Philip, 
and said, " Follow Me." Philip straightway obeyed; and 
then in his zeal and charity sought to win Nathaniel also, 
saying, " We have found Him of whom Moses and the 
prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth; " and when Nathaniel 
in wonder asked, " Can any good come out of Nazareth? " 
Philip simply answered, " Come and see," and brought him 
to Jesus. Another characteristic saying of this Apostle is 
preserved for us by St. John. Christ in His last discourse 
had spoken of His Father; and Philip exclaimed, in the fer- 
vor of his thirst for God, " Lord, show us the Father, and it 
is enough." 

St. James the Less, the author of an inspired Epistle, was 
also one of the Twelve. St. Paul tells us that he was favored 
by a special apparition of Christ after the Resurrection. On 
the dispersion of the Apostles among the nations, St. James 
was left as Bishop of Jerusalem; and even the Jews held in 
such high veneration his purity, mortification, and prayer, 
that they named him the Just. The earliest of Church his- 
torians has handed down many traditions of St. James's 
sanctity. He was always a virgin, says Hegesippus, and cou- 



232 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May i. 



secrated to God. He drank no wine, wore no sandals on 
his feet, and but a single garment on his body. He pros- 
trated himself so much in prayer that the skin of his knees 
was hardened like a camel's hoof. The Jews, it is said, used 
out of respect to touch the hem of his garment. He was 
indeed a living proof of his own words, " The wisdom that 
is from above first indeed is chaste, then peaceable, modest, 
full of mercy and good fruits." He sat beside St. Peter and 




St. Paul at the Council of Jerusalem; and when St. Paul at 
a later time escaped the fury of the Jews by appealing to 
Caesar, the people took vengeance on James, and crying, 
" The just one hath erred," stoned him to death. 

Reflection. — The Church commemorates on the same 
day SS. Philip and James, whose bodies lie side by side at 
Rome. They represent to us two aspects of Christian holi- 
ness. The first preaches faith, the second works; the one 
holy aspirations, the other purity of heart. 



May 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



233 



MAY 2.— ST. ATHANASIUS, BISHOP. 

Athanasius was born in Egypt towards the end of the 
third century, and was from his youth pious, learned, and 
deeply versed in the sacred writings, as befitted one whom 
God had chosen to be the champion and defender of His 
Church against the Arian heresy. Though only a deacon, 




he was chosen by his bishop to go with him to the Council of 
Nicsea, a.d. 325, and attracted the attention of all by the 
learning and ability with which he defended the Faith. A 
few months later, he became Patriarch of Alexandria, and for 
forty-six years he bore, often well-nigh alone, the whole 
brunt of the Arian assault. On the refusal of the Saint to 
restore Arius to Catholic communion, the emperor ordered 
the Patriarch of Constantinople to do so. The wretched 
heresiarch took an oath that he had always believed as the 
Church believes ; and the patriarch, after vainly using every 
effort to move the emperor, had recourse to fasting and 
prayer, that God would avert from the Church the frightful 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 3. 



sacrilege. The day came for the solemn entrance of Arius 
into the great church of Sancta Sophia. The heresiarch and 
his party set out glad and in triumph. But before he reached 
the church, death smote him swiftly and awfully, and the 
dreaded sacrilege was averted. St. Athanasius stood un- 
moved against four Roman emperors; was banished five 
times ; was the butt of every insult, calumny, and wrong the 
Arians could devise, and lived in constant peril of death. 
Though firm as adamant in defence of the Faith, he was 
meek and humble, pleasant and winning in converse, beloved 
by his flock, unwearied in labors, in prayer, in mortifications, 
and in zeal for souls. In the year 373 his stormy life closed 
in peace, rather that his people would have it so than that his 
enemies were weary of persecuting him. He left to the 
Church the whole and ancient Faith, defended and explained 
in writings rich in thought and learning, clear, keen, and 
stately in expression. He is honored as one of the greatest 
of the Doctors of the Church. 

Reflection. — The Catholic Faith, says St. Augustine, is 
more precious far than all the riches and treasures of earth ;, 
more glorious and greater than all its honors, all its posses- 
sions. This it is which saves sinners, gives light to the blind, 
restores penitents, perfects the just, and is the crown of 
martyrs. 



MAY 3.— THE DISCOVERY OF THE HOLY CROSS. 

God having restored peace to His Church, by exalting 
Constantine the Great to the imperial throne, that pious 
prince, who had triumphed over his enemies by the mirac- 
ulous power of the Cross, was very desirous of expressing his 
veneration for the holy places which had been honored and 
sanctified by the presence and sufferings of our blessed 
Redeemer on earth, and accordingly resolved to build a 
magnificent church in the city of Jerusalem. St. Helen, the 
emperor's mother, desiring to visit the holy places there, 
undertook a journey into Palestine in 326, though at that 



May 3.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



235 



time near eighty years of age; and on her arrival at Jeru- 
salem, was inspirea with a great desire to find the identical 
cross on which Christ had suffered for our sins. But there 
was no mark or tradition, even amongst the Christians, to 
show where it lay. The heathens, out of an aversion to 
Christianity, had done what they could to conceal the place 
where Our Saviour was buried, by heaping on it a great 
quantity of stones and rubbish, and building on it a temple to 




Venus. They had, moreover, erected a statue of Jupiter in 
the place where Our Saviour rose from the dead. Helen, to 
carry out her pious design, consulted every one at Jerusalem 
and near it, whom she thought likely to assist her in finding 
out the cross; and was credibly informed that, if she could 
find out the sepulchre, she would likewise find the instru- 
ments of the punishment ; it being the custom among the 
Jews to make a hole near the place where the body of a 
criminal was buried, and to throw into it whatever belonged 
to. his execution. The pious empress, therefore, ordered the 
profane buildings to be pulled down, the statues to be broken 
in pieces, and the rubbish to be removed ; and, upon digging 
to a great depth, the holy sepulchre, and near it three crosses, 



236 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 3. 



also the nails which had pierced Our Saviour's body, and the 
title which had been fixed to His cross, were found. By this 
discovery, they knew that one of the three crosses was that 
which they were in quest of, and that the others belonged to 
the two malefactors between whom Our Saviour had been 
crucified. But, as the title was found separate from the 
cross, it was difficult to distinguish which of the three crosses 
was that on which our Divine Redeemer consummated his 
sacrifice for the salvation of the world. In this perplexity 
the holy Bishop Macarius, knowing that one of the principal 
ladies of the city lay extremely ill, suggested to the empress 
to cause the three crosses to be carried to the sick person, 
not doubting but God would discover which was the cross 
they sought for. This being done, St. Macarius prayed that 
God would have regard to their faith, and, after his prayer, 
applied the crosses singly to the patient, who was imme- 
diately and perfectly recovered by the touch of one of the 
three crosses, the other two having been tried without effect. 
St. Helen, full of joy at having found the treasure which she 
had so earnestly sought and so highly esteemed, built a 
church on the spot, and lodged the cross there with great 
veneration, having provided an extraordinarily rich case for 
it. She afterward carried part of it to the Emperor Constan- 
tine, then at Constantinople, who received it with great ven- 
eration ; another part she sent or rather carried to Rome, to 
be placed in the church which she had built there, called Of 
the Holy Ghost of Jerusalem, where it remains to this day. 
The title was sent by St. Helen to the same church, and 
placed on the top of an arch, where it was found in a case of 
lead in 1492. The inscription in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin 
is in red letters, and the wood was whitened. Thus it was in 
1492; but these colors are since faded. Also the words 
Jesus and Judceorum are eaten away. The board is nine, but 
must have been twelve inches long. The main part of the 
cross St. Helen inclosed in a silver shrine, and committed to 
the care of St. Macarius, that it might be delivered down to 
posterity, as an object of veneration. It was accordingly 
kept with singular care and respect in the magnificent church 
which she and her son built in Jerusalem. St. Paulinus relates 



May 4.] 



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237 



that, though chips were almost daily cut off from it and given 
to devout persons, yet the sacred wood suffered thereby no 
diminution. It is affirmed by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, twenty- 
five years after the discovery, that pieces of the cross were 
spread all over the earth; he compares this wonder to the 
miraculous feeding of five thousand men, as recorded in the 
Gospel. The discovery of the cross must have happened 
about the month of May, or early in the spring. For St. 
Helen went the same year to Constantinople, and from 
thence to Rome, where she died in the arms of her son, on 
the 18th of August, 326. 

Reflection. — In every pious undertaking, the begin- 
ning, merely, does not suffice. " Whoso shall persevere 
unto the end, he shall be saved." 



MAY 4.— ST. MONICA. 

Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, was born in 332. 
After a girlhood of singular innocence and piety, she was 
given in marriage to Patritius, a pagan. She at once devoted 
herself to his conversion, praying for him always, and win- 
ning his reverence and love by the holiness of her life and 
her affectionate forbearance. She was rewarded by seeing 
him baptized a year before his death. When her son Augus- 
tine went astray in faith and manners, her prayers and tears 
were incessant. She was once very urgent with a learned 
bishop that he would talk to her son in order to bring him to 
a better mind, but he declined, despairing of success with 
one at once so able and so headstrong. However, on wit- 
nessing her prayers and tears, he bade her be of good cour- 
age; for it might not be that the child of those tears should 
perish. By going to Italy, Augustine could for a time free 
himself from his mother's importunities; but he could not 
escape from her prayers, which encompassed him like the 
providence of God. She followed him to Italy, and there 
by his marvellous conversion her sorrow was turned into 
joy. At Ostia, on their homeward journey, as Augustine 



2 3 8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 4. 



and his mother sat at a window conversing of the life of the 
blessed, she turned to him and said, " Son, there is nothing 
now I care for in this life. What I shall now do or why I 
am here, I know not. The one reason I had for wishing 
to linger in this life a little longer was that I might see you 
a Catholic Christian before I died. This has God granted 
me superabundantly in seeing you reject earthly happiness 




to become His servant. What do I here? " A few days 
afterwards, she had an attack of fever, and died in the 
year 387. 

Reflection. — It is impossible to set any bounds to what 
persevering prayer may do. It gives man a share in the 
Divine Omnipotence. St. Augustine's soul lay bound in the 
chains of heresy and impurity, both of which had by long 
habit grown inveterate. They were broken by his mother's 
prayers. 



May 5.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



239 



MAY 5.— ST. PIUS V. 

A Dominican friar from his fifteenth year, Michael Ghis- 
lieri, as a simple religious, as inquisitor, as bishop, and as 
cardinal, was famous for his intrepid defence of the Church's 
faith and discipline, and for the spotless purity of his own 
life. His first care as Pope was to reform the Roman court 




and capital by the strict example of his household and the 
severe punishment of all offenders. He next endeavored 
to obtain from the Catholic powers the recognition of the 
Tridentine decrees, two of which he urgently enforced— the 
residence of bishops, and the establishment of diocesan sem- 
inaries. He revised the Missal and Breviary, and reformed 
the ecclesiastical music. Nor was he less active in protect- 
ing the Church without. We see him at the same time sup- 
porting the Catholic King of France against the Huguenot 
rebels, encouraging Mary Queen of Scots, in the bitterness 
of her captivity, and excommunicating her rival the usurper 
Elizabeth, when the best blood of England had flowed upon 



240 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 6. 



the scaffold, and the measure of her crimes was full. But it 
was at Lepanto that the Saint's power was most manifest; 
there, in October, 1571, by the holy league which he had 
formed, but still more by his prayers to the great Mother 
of God, the aged Pontiff crushed the Ottoman forces, and 
saved Christendom from the Turk. Six months later, St. 
Pius died, having reigned but six years. St. Pius was accus- 
tomed to kiss the feet of his crucifix on leaving or entering 
his room. One day the feet moved away from his lips. Sor- 
row filled his heart, and he made acts of contrition, fearing 
that he must have committed some secret offence, but still 
he could not kiss the feet. It was afterwards found that 
they had been poisoned by an enemy. 

Reflection. — " Thy Cross, O Lord, is the source of all 
blessings, the cause of all g-races: by it the faithful find 
strength in weakness, glory in shame, life in death." — St. Leo. 



MAY 6.— ST. JOHN BEFORE THE LATIN GATE. 

In the year 95, St. John, who was the only surviving 
apostle, and governed all the churches of Asia, was appre- 
hended at Ephesus, and sent prisoner to Rome. The Em- 
peror Domitian did not relent at the sight of the venerable 
old man, but condemned him to be cast into a caldron of 
boiling oil. The martyr doubtless heard, with great joy, 
this barbarous sentence; the most cruel torments seemed 
to him light and most agreeable, because they would, he 
hoped, unite him forever to his divine Master and Saviour. 
But God accepted his will, and crowned his desire; he con- 
ferred on him the honor and merit of martyrdom, but sus- 
pended the operation of the fire, as he had formerly pre- 
served the three children from hurt in the Babylonian fur- 
nace. The seething oil was changed in his regard into an 
invigorating bath, and the Saint came out more refreshed 
than when he had entered the caldron. Domitian saw this 
miracle without drawing from it the least advantage, but 
remained hardened in his iniquity. However, he contented 



May 6.] 



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241 



himself after this with banishing the holy apostle into the 
little island of Patmos. St. John returned to Ephesus, in 
the reign of Nerva, who, by mildness, during his short reign 
of one year and four months, labored to restore the faded 
Justre of the Roman Empire. This glorious triumph of St. 
John happened without the gate of Rome, called Latina. 




A church which since has always borne this title was conse- 
crated in the same place in memory of this miracle, under 
the first Christian Emperors. 

Reflection. — St. John suffered above the other Saints 
a martyrdom of love, being a martyr, and more than a mar- 
tyr, at the foot of the cross of his divine Master. All his 
sufferings were by love and compassion imprinted in his soul, 
and thus shared by him. O singular happiness, to have 
stood under the cross of Christ! O extraordinary privilege, 
to have suffered martyrdom in the person of Jesus, and been 
eye-witness of all He did or endured! If nature revolt 
within us against suffering, let us call to mind those words 
of the divine Master: "Thou knowest not now wherefore; 
but thou shalt know hereafter." 



242 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS* 



[May 7. 



MAY 7.— ST. STANISLAS, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

Stanislas was born in answer to prayer when his parents 
were advanced in age. Out of gratitude they educated him 
for the Church, and from a holy priest he became in time 
Bishop of Cracow. Boleslas II. was then King of Poland — a 
prince of good disposition, but spoilt by a long course of 




victory and success. After many acts of lust and cruelty, he 
outraged the whole kingdom by carrying off the wife of one 
of his nobles. Against this public scandal, the chaste and 
gentle bishop alone raised his voice. Having commended 
the matter to God, he went down to the palace and openly 
rebuked the king for his crime against God and his subjects, 
and threatened to excommunicate him if he persisted in his 
sin. To slander the Saint's character, Boleslas suborned the 
nephews of one Paul, lately dead, to swear that their uncle 
had never been paid for land bought by the bishop for the 
Church. The Saint stood fearlessly before the king's 
tribunal, though all his witnesses forsook him, and guaran- 



May 8.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



243 



teed to bring the dead man to witness for him within three 
days. On the third day, after many prayers and tears, he 
raised Paul to life, and led him in his grave-clothes before the 
king. Boleslas made a show for a while of a better life. 
Soon, however, he relapsed into the most scandalous 
excesses, and the bishop, rinding all remonstrance useless, 
pronounced the sentence of excommunication. In defiance 
of the censure, on May 8th, 1079, the king went down to a 
chapel where the bishop himself was saying Mass, and sent in 
three companies of soldiers to dispatch him at the altar. Each 
in turn came out saying they had been scared by a light from 
heaven. Then the king rushed in and slew the Saint at the 
altar with his own hand. 

Reflection. — The safest correction of vice is a blame- 
less life. Yet there are times when silence would make us 
answerable for the sins of others. At such times, let us, in 
the name of God, rebuke the offender without fear. 



MAY 8 THE APPARITION OF ST. MICHAEL THE ARCH- 
ANGEL. 

It is manifested, from the holy Scriptures, that God is 
pleased to make frequent use of the ministry of the heavenly 
spirits in the dispensations of His providence in this world, 
and especially towards man. Hence the name of Angel 
(which is not properly a denomination of nature, but office) 
has been appropriated to them. The angels are all pure 
spirits ; they are, by a property of their nature, immortal, as 
every spirit is. They have the power of moving or convey- 
ing themselves from place to place, and such is their activity 
that it is not easy for us to conceive it. Among the holy 
archangels, there are particularly distinguished in holy writ 
SS. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. St. Michael, whom the 
Church honors this day, was the prince of the faithful angels 
who opposed Lucifer and his associates in their revolt against 
God. As the devil is the sworn enemy of God's holy Church, 
St. Michael is its special protector against his assaults and 



244 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 8.. 



stratagems. This holy archangel has ever been honored in 
the Christian Church, as her guardian under God, and as the 
protector of the faithful; for God is pleased to employ the 
zeal and charity of the good angels and their leader against 
the malice of the devil. To thank His adorable goodness for 
this benefit of His merciful providence, is this festival insti- 
tuted by the Church in honor of the good angels : in which 
devotion she has been encouraged by several apparitions of 




this glorious archangel. Among others, it is recorded that 
St. Michael, in a vision, admonished the Bishop of Siponto 
to build a church in his honor on Mount Gargano, near Man- 
fredonia, in the kingdom of Naples. When the Emperor 
Otho III. had, contrary to his word, put to death, for rebel- 
lion, Crescentius, a Roman senator, being touched with 
remorse, he cast himself at the feet of St. Romuald, who, in 
satisfaction for his crime, enjoined him to walk barefoot, on a 
penitential pilgrimage, to St. Michael's on Mount Gargano: 
which penance he performed in 1002. It is mentioned in 
particular of this special guardian and protector of the 
Church that, in the persecution of Antichrist, he will power- 



May 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



245 



fully stand up in her defence: " At that time shall Michael 
rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of 
thy people." 

Reflection. — St. Michael is not only the protector of 
the Church, but of every faithful soul. He defeated the devil 
by humility; we are enlisted in the same warfare. His arms 
were humility and ardent love of God ; the same must be our 
weapons. We ought to regard this archangel as our leader 
under God : and, courageously resisting the devil in all his 
assaults, to cry out, Who can be compared to God? 



MAY 9. — ST. GREGORY NAZIANZEN. 



Gregory was born of saintly parents, and was the chosen 
friend of St. Basil. They studied together at Athens, turned 
at the same time from the fairest worldly prospects, and for 




some years lived together in seclusion, self-discipline, and 
toil. Gregory was raised, almost by force, to the priesthood ; 
and was in time made Bishop of Nazianzum by St. Basil, who 



246 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 9, 



had become Archbishop of Caesarea. When he was fifty 
years old, he was chosen, for his rare gifts and his con- 
ciliatory disposition, to be Patriarch of Constantinople, then 
distracted and laid waste by Arian and other heretics. In 
that city he labored with wonderful success. The Arians 
were so irritated at the decay of their heresy that they pur- 
sued the Saint with outrage, calumny, and violence, and at 
length resolved to take away his life. For this purpose they 
chose a resolute young man, who readily undertook the 
sacrilegious commission. But God did not allow him to 
carry it out. He was touched with remorse, and cast himself 
at the Saint's feet, avowing his sinful intent. St. Gregory 
at once forgave him, treated him with all kindness, and 
received him amongst his friends, to the wonder and edifica- 
tion of the whole city, and to the confusion of the heretics, 
whose crime had served only as a foil to the virtue of the 
Saint. St. Jerome boasts that he had sat at his feet, and 
calls him his master and his catechist in Holy Scripture. But 
his lowliness, his austerities, the insignificance of his person, 
and above all his very success, drew down on him the hatred 
of the enemies of the Faith. He was persecuted by the 
magistrates, stoned by the rabble, and thwarted and deserted 
even by his brother bishops. During the second General 
Council, he resigned his see, hoping thus to restore peace to 
the tormented city, and retired to his native town, where he 
died a.d. 390. He was a graceful poet, a preacher at once 
eloquent and solid; and as a champion of the Faith so well 
equipped, so strenuous, and so exact, that he is called St. 
Gregory the Theologian. 

Reflection. — " We must overcome our enemies," said 
St. Gregory, " by gentleness ; win them over by forbear- 
ance. Let them be punished by their own conscience, not 
by our wrath. Let us not at once wither the fig-tree, from 
which a more skilful gardener may yet entice fruit." 



May i o.l 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



247 



MAY 10.— ST, ANTONINUS, BISHOP. 

Antoninus, or Little Antony, as he was called from his 
small stature, was born at Florence in 1389. After a child- 
hood of singular holiness, he begged to be admitted into the 
Dominican house at Fiesole; but the Superior, to test his 




sincerity and perseverance, told him he must first learn by 
heart the book of the Decretals, containing several hundred 
pages. This apparently impossible task was accomplished 
within twelve months; and Antoninus received the coveted 
habit in his sixteenth year. While still very young, he filled 
several important posts of his Order, and was consulted on 
questions of difficulty by the most learned men of his day; 
being known, for his wonderful prudence, as " the Coun- 
sellor." He wrote several works on theology and history, 
and sat as Papal Theologian at the Council of Florence. In 
1446, he was compelled to accept the archbishopric of that 
city; and in this dignity earned for himself the title of " the 
Father of the Poor," for all he had was at their disposal. St. 



248 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May II. 



Antoninus never refused an alms which was asked in the 
name of God. When he had no money, he gave his clothes, 
shoes, or furniture. One day, being sent by the Florentines 
to the Pope, as he approached Rome a beggar came up to 
him almost naked, and asked him for an alms for Christ's 
sake. Outdoing St. Martin, Antoninus gave him his whole 
cloak. When he entered the city, another was given him; 
by whom he knew not. His household consisted of only six 
persons; his palace contained no plate or costly furniture, 
and was often nearly destitute of the necessaries or life. His 
one mule was frequently sold for the relief of the poor, when 
it would be bought back for him by some wealthy citizen. 
He died embracing the crucifix, May 2d, 1459, often repeat- 
ing the words, " To serve God is to reign." 

Reflection. — " Alms-deeds," says St. Augustine, " com- 
prise every kind of service rendered to our neighbor who 
needs such assistance. He who supports a lame man bestows 
an alms on him with his feet ; he who guides a blind man does 
him a charity with his eyes ; he who carries an invalid or an 
old man upon his shoulders imparts to him an alms of his 
strength. Hence none are so poor but they may bestow an 
alms on the wealthiest man in the world." 



MAY 11.— ST. MAMMERTUS, ARCHBISHOP. 

St. Mammertus, Archbishop of Vienne in Dauphine, was 
a prelate renowned for his sanctity, learning, and miracles. 
He instituted in his diocese the fasts and supplications called 
the Rogations, on the following occasions. Almighty God, 
to punish the sins of the people, visited them with wars and 
other public calamities, and awaked them from their spiritual 
lethargy by the terrors of earthquakes, fires, and ravenous 
wild beasts, which last were sometimes seen in the very 
market place of cities. These evils the impious ascribed to 
blind chance ; but religious and prudent persons considered 
them as tokens of the divine anger, which threatened their 
entire destruction. Amidst these scourges, St. Mammertus 



May ii.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



249 



received a token of the divine mercy. A terrible fire hap- 
pened in the city of Vienne, which baffled the efforts of men ; 
but by the prayers of the good bishop, the fire on a sudden 
went out. This miracle strongly affected the minds of the 
people. The holy prelate took this opportunity to make 
them sensible of the necessity and efficacy of devout prayer, 
and formed a pious design of instituting an annual fast and 
supplication of three days, in which all the faithful should 




join, with sincere compunction of heart, to appease the divine 
indignation by fasting, prayer, tears, and the confession of 
sins. The Church of Auvergne, of which St. Sidonius was 
bishop, adopted this pious institution before the year 475, 
and it became in a very short time an universal practice. St. 
Mammertus died about the year 477. 

Reflection. — " Know ye that the Lord will hear your 
prayers, if you continue with perseverance in fastings and 
prayers in the sight of the Lord." — Judith iv. 11. 



250 



jLIVES of the saints. 



[May 12. 



MAY 12.— ST. EPIPHANIUS, ARCHBISHOP. 

St. Epiphanius was born about the year 310, in Pales- 
tine. In his youth he began the study of the Holy Scrip- 
tures, embraced a monastic life, and went into Egypt to per- 
fect himself in the exercises of that state, in the deserts of 




that country. He returned to Palestine about the year 333, 
and built a monastery near the place of his birth. His labors 
in the exercise of virtue seemed to some to surpass his 
strength; but his apology always was: " God gives not the 
kingdom of heaven but on condition that we labor; and all 
we can do bears no proportion to such a crown." To his 
corporal austerities he added an indefatigable application to 
prayer and study. Most books then in vogue passed 
through his hands; and he improved himself very much in 
learning by his travels into many parts. 

Although the skilful director of many others, St. 
Epiphanius took the great St. Hilarion as his master in a 
spiritual life, and enjoyed the happiness of his direction and 



May 13.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



251 



intimate acquaintance from the year 333 to 356. The repu- 
tation of his virtue made St. Epiphanius known to distant 
countries ; and, about the year 367, he was chosen Bishop of 
Salamis, in Cyprus. But he still wore the monastic habit, 
and continued to govern his monastery in Palestine, which 
he visited from time to time. He sometimes relaxed his 
austerities in favor of hospitality, preferring charity to absti- 
nence. No one surpassed him in tenderness and charity to 
the poor. The veneration which all men had for his sanctity, 
exempted him from the persecution of the Arian emperor 
Valens. In 376, he undertook a journey to Antioch in the 
hope of converting Vitalis, the Apollinarist bishop; and in 
382, he accompanied St. Paulinus from that city to Rome, 
where they lodged at the house of St. Paula; our Saint in 
return entertained her afterward ten days in Cyprus in 385. 
The very name of an error in faith, or the shadow of danger 
of evil, affrighted him, and the Saint fell into some mistakes 
on certain occasions, which proceeded from zeal and 
simplicity. He was on his way back to Salamis, after a short 
absence, when he died in 403, having been bishop thirty-six 
years. 

Reflection. — " In this is charity: not as though we had 
loved God, but because He hath first loved us." 



MAY 13.— ST. JOHN THE SILENT. 

John was born of a noble family at Nicopolis, in 
Armenia, in the year 454; but he derived from the virtue of 
his parents a much more illustrious nobility than that of 
their pedigree. After their death, he built at Nicopolis a 
church in honor of the Blessed Virgin, as also a monastery, 
in which, with ten fervent companions, he shut himself up 
when only eighteen years of age, with a view of making the 
salvation and most perfect sanctification of his soul his only 
and earnest pursuit. Not only to shun the danger of sin by 
the tongue, but also out of sincere humility and contempt of 
himself, and the love of interior recollection and prayer, he 



252 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 13. 



very seldom spoke; and when obliged to, it was always in 
very few words, and with great discretion. To his extreme 
affliction, when he was only twenty-eight years old, the Arch- 
bishop of Sebaste obliged him to quit his retreat, and or- 
dained him Bishop of Colonian in Armenia in 482. In this 
dignity John preserved always the same spirit, and, as much 
as was compatible with the duties of his charge, continued 
his monastic austerities and exercises. Whilst he was watch- 




ing one night in prayer, he saw before him a bright cross 
formed in the air, and heard a voice which said to him, " If 
thou desirest to be saved, follow this light." It seemed to 
move before him, and at length point out to the monastery 
of St. Sabas. Being satisfied what the sacrifice was which 
God required at his hands, he found means to abdicate the 
episcopal charge, and retired to the neighboring monastery 
of St. Sabas, which at that time contained one hundred and 
fifty fervent monks. St. John was then thirty-eight years 
old. After living there unknown for some years, fetching 
water, carrying stones, and doing other menial work, St. 
Sabas, judging him worthy to be promoted to the priest- 



May 14 ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



253 



hood, presented him to the Patriarch Elias. St. John took 
the patriarch aside, and, having obtained from him a prom- 
ise of secrecy, said, " Father, I have been ordained bishop; 
but on account of the multitude of my sins have fled, and 
am come into this desert to wait the visit of the Lord." The 
patriarch was startled, but God revealed to St. Sabas the 
state of the affair, whereupon, calling for John, he com- 
plained to him of his unkindness in concealing the matter 
from him. Finding himself discovered, John wished to quit 
the monastery, nor could St. Sabas prevail on him to stay, 
but on a promise never to divulge the secret. In the year 
503, St. John withdrew into a neighboring wilderness, but 
in 510 went back to the monastery, and confined himself for 
forty years to his cell. St. John, by his example and coun- 
sels, conducted many fervent souls to God, and continued 
to emulate, as much as this mortal state will allow, the glori- 
ous employment of the heavenly spirits in an uninterrupted 
exercise of love and praise, till he passed to their blessed 
company, soon after the year 558; having lived seventy-six 
years in the desert, which had only been interrupted by the 
nine years of his episcopal dignity. 

Reflection. — A love of Christian silence is a proof that 
a soul makes it her chiefest delight to be occupied on God, 
and finds no comfort like that of conversing with Him. This 
is the paradise of all devout souls. 



MAY 14.— ST. PACHOMIUS, ABBOT. 

In the beginning of the fourth century, great levies of 
troops were made throughout Egypt for the service of the 
Roman emperor. Among the recruits was Pachomius, a 
young heathen, then in his twenty-first year. On his way 
down the Nile he passed a village, whose inhabitants gave 
him food and money. Marvelling at this kindness, Pacho- 
mius was told they were Christians, and hoped for a reward 
in the Kfe to come. He then prayed God to show him the 
truth, and promised to devote his life to His service. On 



254 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 14. 



being discharged, he returned to a Christian village in 
Egypt, where he was instructed and baptized. Instead of 
going home, he sought Palemon, an aged solitary, to learn 
from him a perfect life, and, with great joy embraced the 
most severe austerities. Their food was bread and water, 
once a day in summer, and once in two days in winter; some- 
times they added herbs, but mixed ashes with them. They 




only slept one hour each night, and this short repose Pacho 
mius took sitting upright without support. Three times 
God revealed to him that he was to found a religious order 
at Tabenna; and an angel gave him a rule of life. Trusting 
in God, he built a monastery, although he had no disciples; 
but vast multitudes soon flocked to him, and he trained them 
in perfect detachment from creatures and from self. One- 
day a monk, by dint of great exertions, contrived to make 
two mats instead of the one which was the usual daily task, 
and set them both out in front of his cell, that Pachomius 
might see how diligent he had been. But the Saint, per- 
ceiving the vainglory which had prompted the act, said, 
" This brother has taken a great deal of pains from morning 
till night to give his work to the devil." Then, to cure him 



May 15.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



255 



of his delusion, Pachomius imposed on him as a penance to 
keep his cell for five months and to taste no food but bread 
and water. His visions and miracles were innumerable, and 
he read all hearts. His holy death occurred in 348. 

Reflection. — " To live in great sfmplicity," said St. 
Pachomius, " and in a wise ignorance, is exceeding wise." 



MAY 15.— SS. PETER AND DIONYSIA. 

In the Decian persecution, the blood of the Christians 
flowed at Lampsacus, a city of Asia Minor. St. Peter was 
the first who was led before the proconsul and condemned 
to die for the name of Christ. Young though he was, he 




went joyfully to his torments. He was bound to a wheel 
by iron chains, and his bones were broken, but he raised his 
eyes to heaven with a smiling countenance and said, " I give 
Thee thanks, O Lord Jesus Christ, because Thou hast given 
me patience, and made me victorious over the tyrant." The 
proconsul saw how little suffering availed, and ordered the 



256 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 16. 



martyr to be beheaded. But a little later, in the same city, 
the virgin Dionysia showed a like eagerness to suffer. St. 
Dionysia gained the crown which an apostate lost, and his 
history may teach us that those who lose Christ rather than 
suffer with Him, lose all. With the strength that was left 
he cried out, " I never was a Christian. I sacrifice to the 
gods." Therefore he was taken down, and he offered sacri- 
fice. But he was possessed by the devil, whom he had 
chosen for his master. He fell to the earth in a fit, bit out 
his tongue, and so expired. He escaped a little pain, and 
instead he went to the endless torments of hell, and forfeited 
eternal rest. "O wretched man!" Dionysia cried, "why 
have you feared a little suffering and chosen eternal pain 
instead? " She was seized and led away to horrible outrage, 
but her angel guardian appeared by her side and protected 
the spouse of Christ. Escaping from prison, she still burned 
with the desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. She 
threw herself upon the bodies of the martyrs, saying, " I 
would fain die with you on earth, that I may live with you in 
heaven." And Christ, who is the crown of virgins and the 
strength of martyrs, gave her the desire of her heart. 

Reflection. — The martyrs were even like us, with 
natures which shrank from suffering. They were patient 
under it because they looked to the eternal recompense, and 
endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 



MAY 16.— ST. JOHN NEPOMUCEN. 

St. John was born, in answer to prayer, a.d. 1330, of poor 
parents, at Nepomuc in Bohemia. In gratitude they conse- 
crated him to God; and his holy life as a priest led to his 
appointment as chaplain to the court of the Emperor Wen- 
ceslas, where he converted numbers by his preaching and 
example. Amongst those who sought his advice was the 
empress', who suffered much from her husband's unfounded 
jealousy. St. John taught her to bear her cross with joy; 
but her piety only incensed the emperor, and he tried to 



May i6.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



257 



extort her confessions from the Saint. He threw St. John 
into a dungeon, but gained nothing ; then, inviting him to his 
palace, he promised him riches if he would yield, and 
threatened death if he refused. The Saint was silent. He 
was racked and burnt with torches ; but no words, save Jesus 
and Mary, fell from his lips. At last set free, he spent his 
time in preaching, and preparing for the death he knew to be 
at hand. On Ascension-eve, May 16th, Wenceslas, after a 




final and fruitless attempt to move his constancy, ordered 
him to be cast into the river, and that night the martyr's 
hands and feet were bound, and he was thrown from the 
bridge of Prague. As he died, a heavenly light shining on 
the water discovered the body, which was buried with the 
honors due to a Saint. A few years later, Wenceslas was 
deposed by his own subjects, and died an impenitent and 
miserable death. In 1618, the Calvinist and Hussite soldiers 
of the Protestant Elector Frederick tried repeatedly to 
demolish the shrine of St. John at Prague. Each attempt 
was miraculously frustrated; and once the persons engaged 
in the sacrilege, among whom was an Englishman, were killed 



258 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 17. 



on the spot. In 1620, the imperial troops recovered the 
town by a victory which was ascribed to the Saint's interces- 
sion, as he was seen on the eve of the battle, radiant with 
glory, guarding the cathedral. When his shrine was opened, 
three hundred and thirty years after his decease, the flesh 
had disappeared, and one member alone remained incorrupt, 
the tongue ; thus still, in silence, giving glory to God. 

Reflection. — St. John, who by his invincible sacramen- 
tal silence won his crown, teaches us to prefer torture and 
death to offending the Creator with our tongue. How many 
times each day do we forfeit grace and strength by sins of 
speech! 



MAY 17.— ST. PASCHAL BAYLON. 

From a child Paschal seems to have been marked out for 
the service of God ; and amidst his daily labors he found time 
to instruct and evangelize the rude herdsmen who kept their 
flocks on the hills of Aragon. At the age of twenty-four he 
entered the Franciscan Order, in which, however, he 
remained, from humility, a simple lay-brother, and occupied 
himself, by preference, with the roughest and most servile 
tasks. He was distinguished by an ardent love and devotion 
to the Blessed Sacrament. He would spend hours on his 
knees before the tabernacle — often he was raised from the 
ground in the fervor of his prayer — and there, from the very 
and eternal Truth, he drew such stores of wisdom that, unlet- 
tered as he was, he was counted by all a master in theology 
and spiritual science. Shortly after his profession, he was 
called to Paris on business connected with his Order. The 
journey was full of peril, owing to the hostility of the Hugue- 
nots, who were numerous at the time in the south of France ; 
and on four separate occasions Paschal was in imminent 
danger of death at the hands of the heretics. But it was 
not God's will that His servant should obtain the crown of 
martyrdom which, though judging himself all unworthy of it, 
he so earnestly desired, and he returned in safety to his con- 



May 17.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



*59 



vent, where he died in the odor of sanctity, May 15th, 1592. 
As Paschal was watching his sheep on the mountain-side, he 
heard the consecration bell ring out from a church in the 
valley below, where the villagers were assembled for Mass. 
The Saint fell on his knees, when suddenly there stood before 
him an angel of God, bearing in his hands the Sacred Host, 




and offering it for his adoration. Learn from this how pleas- 
ing to Jesus Christ are those who honor Him in this great 
mystery of His love ; and how to them especially this promise 
is fulfilled: " I will not leave you orphans; I will come unto 
you." John xiv. 18. 

Reflection. — St. Paschal teaches us, never to suffer a 
day to pass without visiting Jesus in the narrow chamber 
where He, whom the heaven itself cannot contain, abides 
day and night for our sake. 



26o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May i 8. 



MAY 18.— ST. VENANTIUS, MARTYR. 

St. Venantius was born at Camerino, in Italy, and at the 
age of fifteen was seized as a Christian and carried before a 
judge. As it was found impossible to shake his constancy 
either by threats or promises, he was condemned to be 
scourged, but was miraculously saved by an angel. He was 




then burnt with torches and hung over a low fire that he 
might be suffocated by the smoke. The judge's secretary, 
admiring the steadfastness of the Saint, and seeing an angel, 
robed in white, who trampled out the fire, and again set free 
the youthful martyr, proclaimed his faith in Christ, was bap- 
tized with his whole family, and shortly after won the martyr's 
crown himself. Venantius was then carried before the 
governor, who, unable to make him renounce his faith, cast 
him into prison with an apostate who vainly strove to tempt 
him. The governor then ordered his teeth and jaws to be 
broken, and had him thrown into a furnace, from which the 
angel once more delivered him. The Saint was again led 



May 19.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



261 



before the judge, who, at sight of him, fell headlong from his 
seat and expired, crying, " The God of Venantius is the true 
God; let us destroy our idols." This circumstance being 
told to the governor, he ordered Venantius to be thrown to 
the lions ; but these brutes, forgetting their natural ferocity, 
crouched at the feet of the Saint. Then, by order of the 
tyrant, the young martyr was dragged through a heap of 
brambles and thorns, but again God manifested the glory of 
His servant; the soldiers suffering from thirst, the Saint knelt 
on a rock and signed it with a cross, when immediately a jet 
of clear, cool water spurted up from the spot. This miracle 
converted many of those who beheld it, whereupon the 
governor had Venantius and his converts beheaded together 
in the year 250. The bodies of these martyrs are kept in the 
church at Camerino, which bears the Saint's name. 

Reflection. — Love of suffering marks the most perfect 
degree in the love of God. Our Lord Himself was con- 
sumed with the desire to suffer, because He burnt with the 
love of God. We must begin with patience and detachment. 
At last we shall learn to love the sufferings which conform 
us to the Passion of Our Redeemer. 



MAY 19.— ST. PETER CELESTINE. 

As a child, Peter had visions of our Blessed Lady, and 
of the angels and saints. They encouraged him in his 
prayer, and chided him when he fell into any fault. His 
mother, though only a poor widow, put him to school, feel- 
ing sure that he would one day be a saint. At the age of 
twenty, he left his home in Apulia to live in a mountain soli- 
tude. Here he passed three years, assaulted by the evil spirits 
and beset with temptations of the 'flesh, but consoled by 
angels' visits. After this, his seclusion was invaded by disci- 
ples, who refused to be sent away; and the rule of life which 
he gave them formed the foundation of the Celestine Order. 
Angels assisted in the church which Peter built; unseen bells 
rang peals of surpassing sweetness, and heavenly music filled 



262 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 19, 



the sanctuary, when he offered the Holy Sacrifice. Sud- 
denly he found himself torn from his loved solitude by his 
election to the Papal throne. Resistance was of no avail. 
He took the name of Celestine, to remind him of the heaven 
he was leaving and for which he sighed, and was consecrated 
at Aquila. After a reign of four months, Peter summoned 
the cardinals to his presence, and solemnly resigned his 
trust. St. Peter built himself a boarded cell in his palace, 




and there continued his hermit's life; and when, lest his sim- 
plicity might be taken advantage of to distract the peace of 
the Church, he was put under guard, he said, " I desired 
nothing but a cell, and a cell they have given me." There 
he enjoyed his former loving intimacy with the saints and 
angels, and sang the Divine praises almost continually. At 
length, on Whit-Sunday, he told his guards he should die 
within the week, and immediately fell ill. He received the 
last Sacraments; and the following Saturday, as he finished 
the concluding verse of Lauds, " Let every spirit bless the 
Lord! " he closed his eyes to this world and opened them to 
the vision of God. 



May 20 ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



263 



Reflection. — " Whoso," says the Imitation of Christ, 
" withdraweth himself from acquaintances and friends, to 
him will God draw near with His holy angels." 



MAY 20.— ST. BERNARDINE OF SIENA. 

In 1408, St. Vincent Ferrer once suddenly interrupted 
his sermon to declare that there was among his hearers a 
young Franciscan who would be one day a greater preacher 
than himself, and would be set before him in honor by the 




Church. This unknown friar was Bernardine. Of noble 
birth, he had spent his youth in works of mercy, and had then 
entered religion. Owing to a defective utterance, his suc- 
cess as a preacher at first seemed doubtful, but, by the 
prayers of Our Lady, this obstacle was miraculously re- 
moved, and Bernardine began an apostolate which lasted 
thirty-eight years. By his burning words and by the power 
of the Holy Name of Jesus, -which he displayed on a tablet 
at the end of his sermons, he obtained miraculous conver- 
sions, and reformed the greater part of Italy. But his sue- 



264 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 21. 



cess had to be exalted by the Cross. The Saint was 
denounced as a heretic and his devotion as idolatrous. After 
many trials he lived to see his innocence proved, and a last- 
ing memorial of his work established in the Church. The 
Feast of the Holy Name commemorates at once his suffer- 
ings and his triumph. He died on Ascension-eve, 1444, 
while his brethren were chanting the antiphon, " Father, I 
have manifested Thy Name to men." St. Bernardine, when 
a youth, undertook the charge of a holy old woman, a rela- 
tion of his, who had been left destitute. She was blind and 
bed-ridden, and during her long illness could only utter the 
Holy Name. The Saint watched over her till she died, and 
thus learned the devotion of his life. 

Reflection. — Let us learn from the life of St. Bernar- 
dine the power of the Holy Name in life and death. 



MAY 21.— ST. HOSPITIUS, RECLUSE. 

St. Hospitius shut himself up in the ruins of an old 
tower near Villafranca, one league from Nice, in Provence. 
He girded himself with a heavy iron chain and lived on bread 
and dates only. During Lent he redoubled his austerities, 
and, in order to conform his life more closely to that of the 
anchorites of Egypt, ate nothing but roots. For his great 
virtues, Heaven honored him with the gifts of prophecy and 
of miracles. He foretold the ravages which the Lombards 
would make in Gaul. These barbarians, having come to the 
tower in which Hospitius lived, and seeing the chain with 
which he was bound, mistook him for some criminal who 
was there imprisoned. On questioning the Saint, he ac- 
knowledged that he was a great sinner and unworthy to 
live. Whereupon one of the soldiers lifted his sword to 
strike him; but God did not desert His faithful servant: the 
soldier's arm stiffened and became numb, and it was not 
until Hospitius made the sign of the cross over it that the 
man recovered the use of it. The soldier embraced Chris- 
tianity, renounced the world, and passed the rest of his days 



May 22.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



265 



in serving God. When our Saint felt that his last hour was 
nearing, he took off his chain and knelt in prayer for a long 
time. Then, stretching himself on a little bank of earth, he 
calmly gave up his soul to God on the 21st of May, 681. 




Reflection. — If we do not love penitence for its own 
sake, let us love it on account of our sins; for we should 
" work out our salvation in fear and trembling." 



MAY 22.— ST. YVO, CONFESSOR. 

St. Yvo Helori, descended from a noble and virtuous 
family near Treguier in Brittany, was born in 1253. At four- 
teen years of age, he went to Paris, and afterwards to 
Orleans, to pursue his studies. His mother was wont fre- 
quently to say to him that he ought so to live as became a 
saint, to which his answer always was, that he hoped to be 
one. This resolution took deep root in his soul, and was a 
continual spur to virtue, and a check against the least shadow 



266 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 22. 



of any dangerous course. His time was chiefly divided 
between study and prayer; for his recreation he visited the 
hospitals, where he attended the sick with great charity, and 
comforted them under the severe trials of their suffering 
condition. He made a private vow of perpetual chastity; 
but, this not being known, many honorable matches were, 
proposed to him, which he modestly rejected as incompatible 
with his studious life. He long deliberated whether to 




embrace a religious or a clerical state ; but the desire of serv- 
ing his neighbor determined him at length in favor of the 
latter. He wished, out of humility, to remain in the lesser 
orders; but his bishop compelled him to receive the priest- 
hood, a step which cost him many tears, though he had quali- 
fied himself for that sacred dignity by the most perfect purity 
of mind and body, and by a long and fervent preparation. 
He was appointed ecclesiastical judge for the diocese of 
Rennes. St. Yvo protected the orphans and widows, 
defended the poor, and administered justice to all with an 
impartiality, application, and tenderness, which gained him 
the good-will even of those who lost their causes. He was 



May 22.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



267 



surnamed the advocate and lawyer of the poor. He built a 
house near his own for a hospital of the poor and sick ; he 
washed their feet, cleansed their ulcers, served them at table, 
and ate himself only the scraps which they had left. He dis- 
tributed his corn, or the price for which he sold it, among the 
poor immediately after the harvest. When a certain person 
endeavored to persuade him to keep it some months that he 
might sell it at a better price, he answered, " I know not 
whether I shall be then alive to give it." Another time the 
same person said to him, " I have gained a fifth by keeping 
my corn." " But I," replied the Saint, " a hundred fold by 
giving it immediately away." During the Lent of 1303, he 
felt his strength failing him ; yet far from abating any thing in 
his austerities, he thought himself obliged to redouble his fer- 
vor in proportion as he advanced nearer to eternity. On the 
eve of the Ascension, he preached to his people, said Mass, 
being upheld by two persons, and gave advice to all who 
addressed themselves to him. After this, he lay down on his 
bed, which was a hurdle of twigs plaited together, and 
received the last Sacraments. From that moment he enter- 
tained himself with God alone till his soul went to possess 
Him in his glory. His death happened on the 19th of May, 
1303, in the fiftieth year of his age. 

Reflection. — St. Yvo was a Saint amidst the dangers of 
the world ; but he preserved his virtue untainted only by 
arming himself carefully against them, by conversing assidu- 
ously with God in prayer and holy meditation, and by most 
watchfully shunning the snares of bad company. Without 
this precaution, all the instructions of parents, and all other 
means of virtue, are ineffectual; and the soul is sure to split 
against this rock, which does not steer wide of it. 



268 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 23. 



MAY 23.— ST. JULIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR, 

St. Julia was a noble virgin at Carthage, who, when the 
city was taken by Genseric in 439, was sold for a slave to a 
pagan merchant of Syria, named Eusebius. Under the most 
mortifying employments of her station, by cheerfulness and 




patience she found a happiness and comfort which the world 
could not have afforded. All the time she was not employed 
in her master's business was devoted to prayer and reading 
books of piety. Her master, who was charmed with her 
fidelity and other virtues, thought proper to carry her with 
him on one of his voyages to Gaul. Having reached the 
northern part of Corsica, he cast anchor, and went on shore 
to join the pagans of the place in an idolatrous festival. Julia 
was left at some distance because she would not be defiled by 
the superstitious ceremonies which she openly reviled. Felix, 
the governor of the island, who was a bigoted pagan, asked 
who this woman was who dared to insult the gods. Eusebius 
informed him that she was a Christian, and that a 1 ! his author- 



May 24.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



269 



ity over her was too weak to prevail with her to renounce her 
religion; but that he found her so diligent and faithful he 
could not part with her. The governor offered him four of 
his best female slaves in exchange for her. But the mer- 
chant replied, " No; all you are worth will not purchase her; 
for I would freely lose the most valuable thing I have in the 
world rather than be deprived of her." However the gover- 
nor, while Eusebius was drunk and asleep, took upon him to 
compel her to sacrifice to his gods. He offered to procure 
her liberty if she would comply. The Saint made answer 
.that she was as free as she desired to be as long as she was 
allowed to serve Jesus Christ. Felix, thinking himself 
derided by her undaunted and resolute air, in a transport of 
rage caused her to be struck on the face, and the hair of her 
head to be torn off; and lastly, ordered her to be hanged on a 
cross till she expired. Certain monks of the Isle of Gorgon 
carried off her body; but in 763 Desiderius, King of Lom- 
bardy, removed her relics to Brescia, where her memory is 
celebrated with great devotion. 

Reflection. — St. Julia, whether free or a slave, whether 
in prosperity or in adversity, was equally fervent and devout. 
She adored all the sweet designs of Providence ; and far from 
complaining, she never ceased to praise and thank God under 
all His holy appointments, making them always the means of 
her virtue and sanctification. God, by an admirable chain of 
events, raised her by her fidelity to the honor of the saints, 
and to the dignity of a virgin and martyr. 



MAY 24.— SS. DONATIAN AND ROGATIAN MARTYRS. 

There lived at Nantes an illustrious young nobleman 
named Donatian, who, having received the holy sacrament of 
regeneration, led a most edifying life, and strove with much 
zeal to convert others to faith in Christ. His elder brother, 
Rogatian, was not able to resist the moving example of his 
piety and the force of his discourses, and desired to be bap- 
tized. But the bishop having withdrawn and concealed him- 



2/Q 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 24. 



self for fear of the persecution, he was not able to receive 
that sacrament, but was shortly after baptized in his blood ; 
for he declared himself a Christian at a time when to embrace 
that sacred profession was to become a candidate for mar- 
tyrdom. Donatian was impeached for professing himself a 
Christian, and for having withdrawn others, particularly his 
brother, from the worship of the gods. Donatian was there- 
fore apprehended, and having bold 1 y confessed Christ before 




the governor, was cast into prison and loaded with irons. 
Rogatian was also brought before the prefect, who 
endeavored first to gain him by flattering speeches, but find- 
ing him inflexible, sent him to prison with his brother. Roga- 
tian grieved that he had not been able to receive the sacra- 
ment of baptism, and prayed that the kiss of peace which his 
brother gave him might supply it. Donatian also prayed 
for him that his faith might procure for him the effect of bap- 
tism, and the effusion of his blood that of the sacrament of 
confirmation. They passed that night together in fervent 
prayer. They were the next day called for again by the pre- 
fect, to whom they declared that they were ready to suffer 
for the name of Christ whatever torments were prepared for 



May 25.} 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



27 



them. By the order of the inhuman judge they were first 
stretched on the rack, afterwards their heads were pierced 
with lances, and lastly cut off, about the year 287. 

Reflection. — Three things are pleasing unto God and 
man, concord among brethren, the love of parents, and the 
union of man and wife. 



MAY 25.— ST. GREGORY VII. 



Gregory VII., by name Hildebrand, was born in Tus- 
cany, about the year 1013. He was educated in Rome. 
From thence he went to France, and became a monk at 




Cluny. Afterwards he returned to Rome, and for many 
years filled high trusts of the Holy See. Three great evils 
then afflicted the Church: simony, concubinage, and the cus- 
tom of receiving investiture from lay hands. Against these 
three corruptions Gregory never ceased to contend. As 
legate of Victor II. he held a Council at Lyons, where simony 



2J2 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 26. 



was condemned. He was elected Pope in 1073, and at once 
called upon the pastors of the Catholic world to lay down 
their lives rather than betray the laws of God to the will of 
princes. Rome was in rebellion through the ambition of 
the Cenci. Gregory excommunicated them. They laid 
hands on him at Christmas during the midnight Mass, 
wounded him, and cast him into prison. The following day 
he was rescued by the people. Next arose his conflict with 
Henry IV., Emperor of Germany. This monarch, after 
openly relapsing into simony, pretended to depose the 
Pope. Gregory excommunicated the emperor. His subjects 
turned against him, and at last he sought absolution of Greg- 
ory at Canossa. But he did not persevere. He set up an 
antipope, and besieged Gregory in the castle of St. Angelo. 
The aged pontiff was obliged to flee, and on May 25th, 1085, 
about the seventy-second year of his life, and the twelfth 
year of his pontificate, Gregory entered into his rest. His 
last words were full of a divine wisdom and patience. As he 
was dying, he said, " I have loved justice and hated iniquity, 
therefore I die in exile." His faithful attendant answered, 
" Vicar of Christ, an exile thou canst never be, for to thee 
God has given the Gentiles for an inheritance, and the utter- 
most ends of the earth for thy possession." 

Reflection. — Eight hundred years are passed since 
St. Gregory died, and we see the same conflict renewed 
before our eyes. Let us learn from him to suffer any perse- 
cution from the world or the State, rather than betray the 
rights of the Holy See. 

MAY 26.— ST. PHILIP NERI. 

Philip was one of the noble line of Saints raised up by 
God in the sixteenth century to console and bless His 
Church. After a childhood of angelic beauty, the Holy 
Spirit drew him away from Florence, the place of his birth, 
showed him the world, that he might freely renounce it, led 
him to Rome, modelled him in mind and heart and will, and 
then, as by a second Pentecost, came down in visible form 



May 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



273 



and filled his soul with light and peace and joy. He would 
have gone to India, but God reserved him for Rome. There 
he went on simply from day to day, drawing souls to Jesus, 
exercising them in mortification and charity, and binding 
them together by cheerful devotions; thus, unconsciously 
to himself, under the hands of Mary, as he said, the Oratory 
grew up, and all Rome was pervaded and transformed by 
its spirit. His life was a continuous miracle, his habitual 




state an ecstasy. He read the hearts of men, foretold their 
future, knew their eternal destiny. His touch gave health 
of body; his very look calmed souls in trouble and drove 
away temptations. He was gay, genial, and irresistibly win- 
ning; neither insult nor wrong could dim the brightness of 
his joy. 

Philip lived in an atmosphere of sunshine and gladness 
which brightened all who came near him. "When I met 
him in the street," says one, " he would pat my cheek and 
say, ' Well, how is Don Pellegrino? ' and leave me so full of 
joy that I could not tell which way I was going." Others 
said that when he playfully pulled their hair or their ears, 



2/4 LIVES OF 1 HE SAINTS. [May 26. 

their hearts would bound with joy. Marcio Altieri felt such 
overflowing gladness in his presence that he said Philip's 
room was a paradise on earth. Fabrizio de Massimi would 
go in sadness or perplexity and stand at Philip's door; he 
said it was enough to see him, to be near him. And long 
after his death, it was enough for many, when troubled, to 
go into his room, to find their hearts lightened and glad- 
dened. He inspired a boundless confidence and love, and 
was the common refuge and consoler of all. A gentle jest 
would convey his rebukes and veil his miracles. The high- 
est honors sought him out, but he put them from him. He 
died in his eightieth year, a.d. 1595, and bears the grand 
title of Apostle of Rome. 

Reflection. — Philip wished his children to serve God, 
like the first Christians, in gladness of heart. He said this 
was the true filial spirit; this expands the soul, giving it lib- 
erty and perfection in action, power over temptations, and 
fuller aid to perseverance. 



ST. AUGUSTINE, APOSTLE OF ENGLAND. 

Augustine was prior of the monastery of St. Andrew 
on the Coelian, and was appointed by St. Gregory the Great 
chief of the missionaries whom he sent to England. 

St. Augustine and his companions, having heard on their 
journey many reports of the barbarism and ferocity of the 
pagan English, were afraid, and wished to turn back. But 
St. Gregory replied, " Go on, in God's name! The greater 
your hardships, the greater your crown. May the grace of 
Almighty God protect you, and give me to see the fruit of 
your labor in the heavenly country! If I cannot share your 
toil, I shall yet share the harvest, for God knows that it is 
not good-will which is wanting." The band of missionaries 
went on in obedience. 



Landing at Ebbsfleet, between Sandwich and Ramsgate, 
they met King Ethelbert and his thanes under a great oak- 
tree at Minster, and announced to him the Gospel of Jesus 




May 27.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



275 



Christ. Instant and complete success attended their preach- 
ing. On Whit Sunday, 596, King Ethelbert was baptized, 
and his example was followed by the greater number of his 
nobles and people. By degrees the faith spread far and 
wide, and Augustine, as Papal Legate, set out on a visitation 
of Britain. • He failed in his attempt to enlist the Britons of 
the west in the work of his apostolate, through their obsti- 
nate jealousy and pride; but his success was triumphant 
from south to north. St. Augustine died after eight years 
of evangelical labors. The Anglo-Saxon Church, which he 
founded, is still famous for its learning, zeal, and devotion to 
the Holy See, while its calendar commemorates no less than 
300 Saints, half of whom were of royal birth. 

Reflection. — The work of an apostle is the work of the 
right Hand of God. He often chooses weak instruments for 
His mightiest purposes. The most sure augury of lasting 
success in missionary labor is obedience to superiors and 
diffidence in self. 



MAY 27.— ST. MARY MAGDALEN OF PAZZL 

St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, of an illustrious house in 
Florence, was born in the year 1566, and baptized by the 
name of Catherine. She received her first communion at ten 
years of age, and made a vow of virginity at twelve. She 
took great pleasure in carefully teaching the Christian doc- 
trine to the ignorant. Her father, not knowing her vow, 
wished to give her in marriage, but she persuaded him to 
allow her to become a religious. It was more difficult to 
obtain her mother's consent; but at last she gained it, and 
she was professed, being then eighteen years of age, in the 
Carmelite monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Flor- 
ence, May 17th, 1584. She changed her name Catherine 
into that of Mary Magdalen on becoming a nun, and took as 
her motto, " To suffer or die ; " and her life henceforth was a 
life of penance for sins not her own, and of love of Our Lord, 
who tried her in ways fearful and strange. She was obedient, 



276 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



TMay 27. 



observant of the rule, humble and mortified, and had a great 
reverence for the religious life. She loved poverty and suf- 
fering, and hungered after Communion. The day of Com- 
munion she called the day of love. The charity that burned 
in her heart led her in her youth to choose the house of 
the Carmelites, because the religious therein communicated 
every day. She rejoiced to see others communicate, even 



01 



m 



when she was not allowed to do so herself; and her love for 
her sisters grew when she saw them receive Our Lord. 

God raised her to high states of prayer, and gave her 
rare gifts, enabling her to read the thoughts of her novices, 
and filling her with wisdom to direct them aright. She was. 
twice chosen mistress of novices, and then made superioress, 
when God took her to Himself, May 25th, 1607. Her body 
is incorrupt. 

Reflection. — St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi was so fillecl 
with the love of God that her sisters in the monastery 
observed it in her love of themselves, and called her " the 
Mother of Charity," and " the Charity of the Monastery.'* 



May 27.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



277 



VENERABLE BEDE. 

Venerable Bede, the illustrious ornament of the Anglo- 
Saxon Church and the first English historian, was conse- 
crated to God at the age of seven, and intrusted to the care 
of St. Benedict Biscop at Wearmouth. He became a monk 
in the sister-house of Jarrow, and there trained no less than 
six hundred scholars, whom his piety, learning, and sweet 
disposition had gathered round him. To the toils of teach- 
ing and the exact observance of his rule, he added long hours 
of private prayer, and the study of every branch of science 
and literature then known. He was familiar with Latin, 
Greek, and Hebrew. In the treatise which he compiled for 
his scholars, still extant, he threw together all that the world 
had then stored in history, chronology, physics, music, phi- 
losophy, poetry, arithmetic, and medicine. In his Ecclesias- 
tical History, he has left us beautiful lives of Anglo-Saxon 
Saints and holy fathers, while his commentaries on the Holy 
Scriptures are still in use by the Church. It was to the study 
of the Divine Word that he devoted the whole energy of his 
soul, and at times his compunction was so overpowering that 
his voice would break with weeping, while the tears of his 
scholars mingled with his own. He had little aid from others, 
and during his later years suffered from constant illness ; yet 
he worked and prayed up to his last hour. 

The Saint was employed in translating the Gospel of St. 
John from the Greek up to the hour of his death, which took 
place on Ascension-day, a.d. 735. " He spent that day joy- 
fully," writes one of his scholars. And in the evening the 
boy who attended him said, " Dear master, there is yet one 
sentence unwritten." He answered^ " Write it quickly." 
Presently the youth said, " Now it is written." He replied, 
" Good! thou hast said the truth — consummatum est; take my 
head kito thy hands, for it is very pleasant to me to sit facing 
my old praying-place, and there to call upon my Father." 
And so on the floor of his cell he sang, " Glory be to the 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; " and just as he said, " Holy 
Ghost," he breathed his last, and went to the realms above. 



278 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 28. 



Reflection. — " The more," says the Imitation of Christ, 
" a man is united within himself and interiorly simple, so 
much the more and deeper things doth he understand with- 
out labor; for he receiveth the light of understanding from 
on high." 



MAY 28.— ST. GERM ANUS, BISHOP. 

St. Germanus, the glory of the church of France in the 
sixth century, was born in the territory of Autun, about the 
year 469. In his youth he was conspicuous for his fervor. 
Being ordained priest, he was made abbot of St. Sympho- 




rian's ; he was favored at that time with the gifts of miracles 
and prophecy. It was his custom to watch the great part of 
the night in the church in prayer, whilst his monks slept. 
One night, in a dream, he thought a venerable old man pre- 
sented him with the keys of the city of Paris, and said to him, 
that God committed to his care the inhabitants of that city, 
that he should save them from perishing. Four years after 



May 29.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



this divine admonition, in 554, happening to be at Paris when 
that see became vacant, on the demise of the bishop 
Eusebius, he was exalted to the episcopal chair, though he 
endeavored by many tears to decline the charge. His pro- 
motion made no alteration in his mode of life. The same 
simplicity and frugality appeared in his dress, table, and fur- 
niture. His house was perpetually crowded with the poor 
and the afflicted, and he had always many beggars at his own 
table. God gave to his sermons a wonderful influence over 
the minds of all ranks of people ; so that the face of the whole 
city was in a very short time quite changed. King Childe- 
bert, who till then had been an ambitious, worldly prince, was 
entirely converted by the sweetness and the powerful dis- 
courses of the Saint, and founded many religious institutions, 
and sent large sums of money to the good bishop, to be dis- 
tributed among the indigent. In his old age St. Germanus 
lost nothing of that zeal and activity with which he had filled 
the great duties of his station in the vigor of his life ; nor did 
the weakness to which his corporal austerities had reduced 
him make him abate any thing in the mortifications of his 
penitential life, in which he redoubled his fervor as he 
approached nearer to the end of his course. By his zeal the 
remains of idolatry were extirpated in France. The Saint 
continued his labors for the conversion of sinners till he was 
called to receive the reward of them, on the 28th of May, 576, 
being eighty years old. 

Reflection. — " In the churches, bless ye God the Lord. 
From Thy temple, kings shall offer presents to Thee." 



MAY 29. — ST. CYRIL, MARTYR. 

St. Cyril suffered while still a boy at Caesarea, in Cappa- 
docia, during the persecutions of the third century. He 
used to repeat the name of Christ at all times, and confessed 
that the mere utterance of this name moved him strangely. 
He was beaten and reviled by his heathen father. But he 
bore all this with joy, increasing in the strength of Chrisr, 



2 SO 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 29. 



who dwelt within him, and drawing many of his own age to 
the imitation of his heavenly life. When his father in his 
fury turned him out of doors, he said he had lost little, and 
would receive a great recompense instead. 

Soon after, he was brought before the magistrate on 
account of his faith. No threats could make him show a 
sign of fear, and the judge, pitying perhaps his tender years, 




offered him his freedom, assured him of his father's forgive- 
ness, and besought him to return to his home tnd inherit- 
ance. But the blessed youth replied, " I left my home 
gladly, for I have a greater and a better which is waiting for 
me." He was filled with the same heavenly desires to the 
end. He was taken to the fire as if for execution, and was 
then brought back and re-examined, but he only protested 
against the cruel delay. Led out to die, he hurried on the 
executioners, gazed unmoved at the flames which were kin- 
dled for him, and expired, hastening, as he said, to his home. 

Reflection. — Ask Our Lord to make all earthly joy 
insipid, and to fill you with the constant desire of heaven. 
This desire will make labor easy and suffering light. It will 



May 30.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 28 1 

make you fervent and detached, and bring you even here a 
foretaste of that eternal joy and peace to which you are 
hastening. 

MAY 30. — ST. FELIX I., POPE AND MARTYR. 

St. Felix was a Roman by birth, and succeeded St. 
Dionysius in the government of the Church in 269. Paul 
of Samosata, the proud bishop of Antioch, to the guilt of 
many enormous crimes, added that of heresy, teaching that 




Christ was no more than a mere man, in whom the Divine 
Word dwelt by its operation, and as in its temple, with many 
other gross errors concerning the capital mysteries of the 
Trinity and Incarnation. Three councils were held at An- 
tioch to examine his cause, and in the third, assembled in 
269, being clearly convicted of heresy, pride, and many scan- 
dalous crimes, he was excommunicated and deposed, and 
Domnus was substituted in his place. As Paul still kept 
possession of the episcopal house, our Saint had recourse to 
the emperor Aurelian, who, though a pagan, gave an order 



282 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[May 31. 



that the house should belong to him to whom the bishops of 
Rome and Italy adjudged it. The persecution of Aurelian 
breaking out, St. Felix, fearless of danger, strengthened the 
weak, encouraged all, baptized the catechumens, and con- 
tinued to exert himself in converting infidels to the faith. 
He himself obtained the glory of martyrdom. He governed 
the Church five years, and passed to a glorious eternity 
in 274. 

Reflection. — The example of Our Saviour and of all 
His saints, ought to encourage us under all trials to suffer 
with patience and even with joy. We shall soon begin to 
feel that it is sweet to tread in the steps of a God-man, and 
shall find that if we courageously take up our crosses, He 
will make them light by sharing the burden with us. 

MAY 31. — ST. PETRONILLA, VIRGIN. 

Among the disciples of the apostles in the primitive age 
of saints, this holy virgin shone as a bright star in the Church. 
She lived when Christians were more solicitous to live well 
than to write much: they knew how to die for Christ; but 
did not compile long books in which vanity has often a 
greater share than charity. Hence no particular account 
of her actions had been handed down to us. But how emi- 
nent her sanctity was we may judge from the lustre by which 
it was distinguished among apostles, prophets, and martyrs. 
She is said to have been a daughter of the apostle St. Peter ; 
that St. Peter was married before his vocation to the apostle- 
ship we learn from the gospel. St. Clement of Alexandria 
assures us that his wife attained to the glory of martyrdom; 
at which Peter himself encouraged her, bidding her to 
remember Our Lord. But it seems not certain whether 
St. Petronilla was more than the spiritual daughter of that 
apostle. She flourished at Rome, and was buried on the 
way to Ardea, where in ancient times a cemetery and a 
church bore her name. 



June i.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 283 

Reflection. — With the saints the great end for which 
they lived was always present to their minds, and they 
thought every moment lost in which they did not make some 
advances toward eternal bliss. How will their example con- 




demn at the last day the trifling fooleries, and the greatest 
part of the conversation and employments of the world, 
which aim at nothing but present amusements, and forget 
the only important affair — the business of eternity. 



JUNE 1.— ST. JUSTIIT, MARTYR. 

St. Justin was born of heathen parents at Neapolis in 
Samaria, about the year 103. He was well educated, and 
gave himself to the study of philosophy, but always with one 
object, that he might learn the knowledge of God. He 
sought this knowledge among the contending schools of 
philosophy, but always in vain, till at last God Himself ap- 
peased the thirst which he had created. One day, while 
Justin was walking by the seashore, meditating on the 



284 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [June I. 

thought of God. an old man met him and questioned him on 
the subject of his doubts; and when he had made Justin con- 
fess that the philosophers taught nothing certain about God, 
he told him of the writings of the inspired prophets and of 
Jesus Christ whom they announced, and bade him seek light 
and understanding through prayer. The Scriptures and the 
constancy of the Christian martyrs led Justin from the dark- 
ness of human reason to the light of faith. In his zeal for 
the faith he travelled to Greece, Egypt, and Italy, gaining 
many to Christ. At Rome he sealed his testimony with his 
blood, surrounded by his disciples. " Do you think," the 
prefect said to Justin, " that by dying you will enter heaven 
and be rewarded by God? " " I do not think," was the 
Saint's answer; " I know." Then, as now, there were many 
religious opinions, but only one certainty 1 — the certainty of 
the Catholic faith. This certainty should be the measure 
of our confidence and our zeal. 

Reflection. — We have received the gift of faith with 
little labor of our own. Let us learn how to value it from 
those who reached it after long search, and lived in the 
misery of a world which did not know God. Let us fear, as 
St. Justin did, the account we shall have to render for the 
gift of God. 



ST. PAMPHILUS, MARTYR. 

St. Pamphilus was of a rich and honorable family, and a 
native of Berytus, in which city, at that time famous for its 
schools, he in his youth ran through the whole circle of the 
sciences, and was afterward honored with the first employ- 
ments of the magistracy. After he began to know Christ, 
he could relish no other study but that of salvation, and 
renounced every thing else that he might apply himself 
wholly to the exercises of virtue, and the studies of the Holy 
Scriptures. This accomplished master in profane sciences, 
and this renowned magistrate, was not ashamed to btcome 
the humble scholar of Pierius, the successor of Origen, in the 



June i.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



285 



great catechetical school of Alexandria. He afterward made 
Ccesarea, in Palestine, his residence, where, at his private 
expense, he collected a great library, which he bestowed on 
the church of that city. The Saint established there also 
a public school of sacred literature, and to his labors the 
Church was indebted for a most correct edition of the Holy 
Bible, which, with infinite care, he transcribed himself. But 
nothing was more remarkable in this Saint than his extraor- 




dinary humility. His paternal estate he at length distributed 
among the poor; towards his slaves and domestics his 
behavior was always that of a brother or a tender father. He 
led a most austere life, sequestered from the world and its 
company, and was indefatigable in labor. Such a virtue was 
his apprenticeship to the grace of martyrdom. In the year 
307, Urbanus, the cruel governor of Palestine, caused him 
to be apprehended, and commanded him to be most 
inhumanly tormented. But the iron hooks which tore the 
martyr's sides served only to cover the judge with confusion. 
After this, the Saint remained almost two years in prison. 
Urbanus, the governor, was himself beheaded by an order of 



286 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 2. 



the emperor Maximinus, but was succeeded by Firmilian, 
a man not less barbarous than bigoted and superstitious. 
After several butcheries, he caused St. Pamphilus to be 
brought before him, and passed sentence of death upon him. 
His flesh was torn off to the very bones, and his bowels ex- 
posed to view, and the torments were continued a long time 
without intermission, but he never once opened his mouth 
so much as to groan. He finished his martyrdom by a slow 
fire, and died invoking Jesus, the Son of God. 

Reflection. — A cloud of witnesses, a noble army of 
martyrs, teach us by their constancy to suffer wrong with 
patience, and strenuously to resist evil. The daily trials we 
meet with from others or from ourselves, are always sent us 
by God, who sometimes throws difficulties in our way on pur- 
pose to reward our conquest; and sometimes, like a wise 
physician, restores us to our health by bitter potions. 



JUNE 2.— SS. POTHINUS, BISHOP, SANCTUS, ATTALUS, 
BLANDINA, AND THE OTHER MARTYRS OF LYONS. 

After the miraculous victory obtained by the prayers of 
the Christians under Marcus Aurelius, in 174, the Church 
enjoyed a kind of peace, though it was often disturbed in par- 
ticular places by popular commotions, or by the superstitious 
fury of certain governors. This appears from the violent 
persecution which was raised three years after the aforesaid 
victory, at Vienne and Lyons, in 177; whilst St. Pothinus was 
bishop of Lyons, and St. Irenaeus, who had been sent thither 
by St. Polycarp out of Asia, was a priest of that city. Many 
of the principal Christians were brought before the Roman 
governor. Among them was a slave, Blandina: and her mis- 
tress, also a Christian, feared that Blandina lacked strength 
to brave the torture. She was tormented a whole day 
through, but she bore it all with joy till the executioners gave 
up, confessing themselves outdone. Red-hot plates were 
held to the sides of Sanctus, a deacon of Vienne, till his body 
became one great sore, and he looked no longer like a man ; 



June 2. J 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



but in the midst of his tortures he was " bedewed and 
strengthened by the stream of heavenly water which flows 
from the side of Christ." Meantime, many confessors were 
kept in prison, and with them were some who had been ter- 
rified into apostasy. Even the heathens marked the joy of 
martyrdom in the Christians who were decked for their eter- 
nal espousals, and the misery of the apostates. But the 
faithful confessors brought back those who had fallen, and 




the Church, " that Virgin Mother," rejoiced when she saw 
her children live again in Christ. Some died in prison, the 
rest were martyred one by one, St. Blandina last of all, after 
seeing her younger brother put to a cruel death, and encour- 
aging him to victory. 

Reflection. — In early times, the Christians were called 
the children of joy. Let us seek the joy of the Holy Spirit 
to sweeten suffering, to temper earthly delight, till we enter 
into the joy of Our Lord. 



288 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 3. 



JUNE 3. — ST. CLOTILDA, QUEEN. 

St. Clotilda was daughter of Chilperic, younger brother 
to Gondebald, the tyrannical king of Burgundy, who put him 
and his wife, and his other brothers, except one, to death, 
in order to usurp their dominions. Clotilda was brought up 
in her uncle's- court, and, by a singular providence, was 




instructed in the Catholic religion, though she was educated 
in the midst of Arians. Her wit, beauty, meekness, modesty, 
and piety made her the adoration of all the neighboring king- 
doms, and Clovis I., surnamed the Great, the victorious king 
of the Franks, demanded and obtained her in marriage. She 
honored her royal husband, studied to sweeten his warlike 
temper by Christian meekness, conformed herself to his 
humor in things that were indifferent, and, the better to gain 
his affections, made those things the subject of her discourse 
and praises in which she knew him to take the greatest 
delight. When she saw herself mistress of his heart, she did 
not defer the great work of endeavoring to win him to God, 



June 4.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



289 



but the fear of giving offence to his people made him delay his 
conversion. His miraculous victory over the Alemanni, and 
his entire conversion in 496, were at length the fruit of our 
Saint's prayers. Clotilda, having gained to God this great 
monarch, never ceased to excite him to glorious actions for 
the divine honor; among other religious foundations, he 
built in Paris, at her request, about the year 511, the great 
church of SS. Peter and Paul, now called St. Genevieve's. 
This great prince died on the 27th of November, in the year 
511, at the age of forty-five, having reigned thirty years. His 
eldest son, Theodoric, reigned at Rheims over the eastern 
parts of France, Clodomir reigned at Orleans, Childebert at 
Paris, and Clotaire I. at Soissons. This division produced 
wars and mutual jealousies, till in 560 the whole monarchy 
was reunited under Clotaire, the youngest of these brothers. 
The dissension in her family contributed more perfectly to 
wean Clotilda's heart from the world. She spent the remain- 
ing part of her life in exercises of prayer, almsdeeds, watch- 
ing, fasting, and penance, seeming totally to forget that she 
had been queen or that her sons sat on the throne. Eternity 
filled her heart and employed all her thoughts. She foretold 
her death thirty days before it happened. On the thirtieth 
day of her illness, she received the sacraments, made a public 
confession of her faith, and departed to the Lord on the 3d 
of June, in 545. 

Reflection. — St. Peter defines the mission of the Chris- 
tian woman: to win the heart of those who believe not the 
word. 



JUNE 4— ST. FRANCIS CARACCIOLO. 

Francis was born in the kingdom of Naples, of the 
princely family of Caracciolo. In childhood he shunned all 
amusements, recited the Rosary regularly, and loved to visit 
the Blessed Sacrament and to distribute his food to the 
poor. An attack of leprosy taught him the vileness of the 
human body and the vanity of the world. Almost miracu- 



2 go 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 4. 



lously cured, he renounced his home to study for the priest- 
hood at Naples, where he spent his leisure hours in the 
prisons or visiting the Blessed Sacrament in unfrequented 
churches. God called him, when only twenty-five, to found 
an Order of Clerks Regular, whose rule was that each day 
one father fasted on bread and water, another took the dis- 
cipline,, a third wore a hair-shirt, while they always watched 
by turns in perpetual adoration before the Blessed Sacra- 




ment. They took the usual vows, adding a fourth — not to 
desire dignities. To establish his Order, Francis undertook' 
many journeys through Italy and Spain, on foot and without 
money, content with the shelter and crusts given him in 
charity. Being elected general, he redoubled his austeri- 
ties, and devoted seven hours daily to meditation on the 
Passion, besides passing most of the night praying before 
the Blessed Sacrament. Francis was commonly called the 
Preacher of Divine Love. But it was before the Blessed 
Sacrament that his ardent devotion was most clearly per- 
ceptible. In presence of his Divine Lord, his face usually 
emitted brilliant rays of light; and he often bathed the 



June 5.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



29I 



ground with his tears when he prayed, according to his cus- 
tom, prostrate on his face before the tabernacle, and con- 
stantly repeating, as one devoured by internal fire, " The 
zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up." He died of fever, 
aged forty-four, on the eve of Corpus Christi, 1608, saying, 
"Let us go, let us go to heaven!" When his body was 
opened after death, his heart was found as it were burnt up, 
and these words imprinted around it: " Zelus domus Tuas 
comedit me " — " The zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up." 

Reflection. — It is for men, and not for angels, that our 
Blessed Lord resides upon the altar. Yet angels throng our 
churches to worship Him while men desert Him. Learn 
from St. Francis to avoid such ingratitude, and to spend, 
as he did, every possible moment before the Most Holy 
Sacrament. 



JUNE 5.— ST. BONIFACE, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

St. Boniface was born at Crediton, in Devonshire, Eng- 
land, in the year 680. Some missionaries staying at his 
father's house spoke to him of heavenly things, and inspired 
him with a wish to devote himself, as they did, to God. He 
entered the monastery of Exminster, and was there trained 
for his apostolic work. His first attempt to convert the 
pagans in Holland having failed, he went to Rome to obtain 
the Pope's blessing on his mission, and returned with author- 
ity to preach to the German tribes. It was a slow and dan- 
gerous task ; his own life was in constant peril, while his flock 
was often reduced to abject poverty by the wandering robber 
bands. Yet his courage never flagged. He began with 
Bavaria and Thuringia, next visited Friesland, then passed 
on to Hesse and Saxony, everywhere destroying the idol 
temples and raising churches on their site. He endeavored, 
as far as possible, to make every object of idolatry contrib- 
ute in some way to the glory of God; on one occasion, 
having cut down an immense oak which was consecrated to 
Jupiter, he used the tree in building a church, which he dedi- 

1 



292 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 5. 



cated to the Prince of the Apostles. He was now recalled 
to Rome, consecrated Bishop by the Pope, and returned to 
extend and organize the rising German Church. With dili- 
gent care he reformed abuses among the existing clergy, 
and established religious houses throughout the land. At 
length, feeling his infirmities increase, and fearful of losing 
his martyr's crown, Boniface appointed a successor to his 




monastery, and set out to convert a fresh pagan tribe. While 
St. Boniface was waiting to administer Confirmation to some 
newly-baptized Christians, a troop of pagans arrived armed 
with swords and spears. His attendants would have 
opposed them, but the Saint said to his followers: "My 
children, cease your resistance; the long-expected day is 
come at last. Scripture forbids us to resist evil. Let us put 
our hope in God: He will save our souls." Scarcely had he 
ceased speaking, when the barbarians fell upon him and slew 
him with all his attendants, to the number of fifty-two. 

Reflection. — St. Boniface teaches us how the love of 
Christ changes all things. It was for Christ's sake that he 
toiled for souls, preferring poverty to riches, labor to rest,, 



June 6.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 293 

suffering to pleasure, death to life, that by dying he might 
live with Christ. 



JUNE 6. — ST. NORBERT, BISHOP. 

Of noble rank and rare talents, Norbert passed a most 
pious youth, and entered the ecclesiastical state. By a 
strange contradiction, his conduct now became a scandal to 
his sacred calling, and at the court of the emperor, Henry 




IV., he led, like many clerics of that age, a life of dissipation 
and luxury. One day, when he was thirty years of age, he 
was thrown half dead from his horse, and on recovering his 
senses, resolved upon a new life. After a severe and search- 
ing preparation, he was ordained priest, and began to expose 
the abuses of his Order. Silenced at first by a local council, 
he obtained the Pope's sanction and preached penance to 
listening crowds in France and the Netherlands. In the 
wild vale of Premontre he gave to some trained disciples the 
rule of St. Austin, and a white habit to denote the angelic 



294 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 7. 



purity proper to the priesthood. The canons regular, or 
Premonstratensians, as they were called, were to unite the 
active work of the country clergy with the obligations of 
the monastic life. Their fervor renewed the spirit of the 
priesthood, quickened the faith of the people, and drove out 
heresy. A vile heretic, named Tankelin, appeared at Ant- 
werp, in the time of St. Norbert, and denied the reality of 
the priesthood, and especially blasphemed the Blessed 
Eucharist. The Saint was sent for to drive out the pest. 
By his burning words, he exposed the impostor and rekin- 
dled the faith in the Blessed Sacrament. Many of the apos- 
tates had proved their contempt for the Blessed Sacrament 
by burying it in filthy places. Norbert bade them search 
for the Sacred Hosts. They found them entire and unin- 
jured, and the Saint bore them back in triumph to the tab- 
ernacle. Hence he is generally painted with the monstrance 
in his hand. In 1126, Norbert found himself appointed 
Bishop of Magdeburg; and there, at the risk of his life, he 
zealously carried on his work of reform, and died, worn out 
with toil, at the age of fifty-three. 

Reflection. — Reparation for the injuries offered to the 
Blessed Sacrament was the aim of St. Norbert's great work 
of reform — in himself, in the clergy, and in the faithful. How 
much does our present worship repair for our own past 
irreverences, and for the outrages offered by others to the 
Blessed Eucharist? 



JUNE 7.— ST. ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER. 

In 1 132, Robert was a monk at Whitby, England, when 
news arrived that thirteen religious had been violently 
expelled from the Abbey of St. Mary, in York, for having 
proposed to restore the strict Benedictine rule. He at once 
set out to join them, and found them on the banks of the 
Skeld, near Ripon, living in the midst of winter in a hut 
made of hurdles and roofed with turf. In the spring, they 
affiliated themselves to St. Bernard's reform at Clairvaux, 



June 7.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



295 



and for two years struggled on in extreme poverty. At 
length the fame of their sanctity brought another novice, 
Hugh, Dean of York, who endowed the community with all 
his wealth, and thus laid the foundation of Fountains Abbey. 
In 1 137, Raynulph, Baron of Morpeth, was so edified by the 
example of the monks at Fountains that he built them a 
monastery in Northumberland, called Newminster, of which 
St. Robert became abbot. The holiness of his life, even 
more than his words, guided his brethren to perfection, and 
within the next ten years three new communities went forth 
from this one house to become centres of holiness in other 
parts. The abstinence of St. Robert in refectory alone suf- 
ficed to maintain the mortified spirit of the community. One 
Easter Day, his stomach, weakened by the fast of Lent, 
could take no food, and he at last consented to try to eat 
some bread sweetened with honey. Before it was brought, 
he felt this relaxation would be a dangerous example for his 
subjects, and sent the food untouched to the poor at the 
gate. The plate was received by a young man of shining 
countenance, who straightway disappeared. At the next 
meal the plate descended empty, and by itself, to the abbot's 
place in the refectory, proving that what the Saint sacrificed 
for his brethren had been accepted by Christ. At the 
moment of Robert's death, in 11 59, St. Godric, the hermit 
of Finchale, saw his soul, like a globe of fire, borne up by 
the angels in a pathway of light; and as the gates of heaven 
opened before them, a voice repeated twice, " Enter now, 
my friends. " 

Reflection. — Reason and authority prove that virtue 
ought to be practised. But facts alone prove that it is prac- 
tised; and this is why examples have more power to move 
our souls, and why our individual actions are of such fearful 
importance for others as well as for ourselves. 



296 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 7. 



ST. CLAUDE, ARCHBISHOP. 

The province of Eastern Burgundy received great lustre 
from this glorious Saint. He was born at Salins, about the 
year 603, and was both the model and the oracle of the 
clergy of Besangon, when, upon the death of Archbishop 
Gervaise, about the year 683, he was chosen to be his suc- 




cessor. Fearing the obligations of that charge, he fled and 
hid himself, but was discovered and compelled to take it 
upon him. During seven years, he acquitted himself of the 
pastoral functions with the zeal and vigilance of an apostle; 
but finding then an opportunity of resigning his see, which, 
out of humility and love of solitude, he had always sought, 
he retired to the great monastery of St. Oyend, and there 
took the monastic habit, in 690. Violence was used to 
oblige him soon after to accept the abbatial dignity. Such 
was the sanctity of his life, and his zeal in conducting his 
monks in the paths of evangelical perfection, that he de- 



June 8.] lives of the saints. 297 

served to be compared to the Antonines and Pacomiuses, 
and his monastery to those of ancient Egypt. Manual 
labor, silence, prayer, reading of pious books, especially the 
Holy Bible, fasting, watching, humility, obedience, poverty, 
mortification, and the close union of their hearts with God, 
made up the whole occupation of these fervent servants of 
God, and were the rich patrimony which St. Claude left to 
his disciples. He died in 703. 



JUNE 8.-ST. MEDARD, BISHOP. 



St. Medard, one of the most illustrious prelates of the 
Church of France in the sixth century, was born of a pious 
and noble family, at Salency, about the year 457. From 




his childhood, he evinced the most tender compassion for 
the poor. On one occasion, he gave his coat to a destitute 
blind man, and when asked why he had done so, he answered 
that the misery of a fellow-member in Christ so affected him 
that he could not help giving him part of his own clothes. 



298 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 8. 



Being promoted to the priesthood in the thirty-third year 
of his age, he became a bright ornament of that sacred 
order. He preached the word of God with an unction 
which touched the hearts of the most hardened; and the 
influence of his example, by which he enforced the precepts- 
which he delivered from the pulpit, seemed irresistible. In 
530, Alomer, the thirteenth Bishop of that country, dying, 
St. Medard was unanimously chosen to fill the see, and was 
consecrated by St. Remigius, who had baptized King Clovis 
in 496, and was then exceeding old. Our Saint's new dig- 
nity did not make him abate any thing of his austerities, and, 
though at that time seventy-two years old, he thought him- 
self obliged to redouble his labors. Though his diocese was 
very wide, it seemed not to suffice for his zeal, which could 
not be confined; wherever he saw the opportunity of advanc- 
ing the honor of God, and of abolishing the remains of idol- 
atry, he overcame all obstacles, and by his zealous labors 
and miracles the rays of the Gospel dispelled the mists of 
idolatry throughout the whole extent of his diocese. What 
rendered his task more difficult and perilous was the savage 
and fierce disposition of the ancient inhabitants of Flanders, 
who were the most barbarous of all the nations of the Gauls 
and Franks. Our Saint, having completed this great work 
in Flanders, returned to Noyon, where he shortly after fell 
sick, and soon rested from his labors at an advanced age, 
in 545. The whole kingdom lamented his death as the loss 
of their common father and protector. His body was buried 
in his own cathedral, but the many miracles wrought at his 
tomb so moved King Clotaire that he translated the precious 
remains to Soissons. 

Reflection. — The Church takes delight in styling her 
founder " The amiable Jesus," and He likewise says of 
Himself, " I am meek and humble of heart." 



June 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



299 



JUNE 9.— SS. PRIMUS AND FELICIANUS, MARTYRS, 

These two martyrs were brothers, and lived in Rome, 
toward the latter part of the third century, for many years, 
mutually encouraging each other in the practice of all good 
works. They seemed to possess nothing but for the poor, 




and often spent both nights and days with the confessors in 
their dungeons, or at the places of their torments and execu- 
tion. Some they encouraged to perseverance, others, who 
had fallen, they raised again, and they made themselves the 
servants of all in Christ, that all might attain to salvation 
through Him. Though their zeal was most remarkable, they 
had escaped the dangers of many bloody persecutions, and 
were grown old in the heroic exercises of virtue, when it 
pleased God to crown their labors with a glorious martyr- 
dom. The pagans raised so great an outcry against them 
that they were both apprehended and put in chains. They 
were inhumanly scourged, and then sent to a town twelve 
miles from Rome, to be farther chastised, as avowed enemies 



300 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 9. 



to the gods. There they were cruelly tortured, first both 
together, afterward separately. But the grace of God 
strengthened them, and they were at length both beheaded 
on the 9th of June. 

Reflection. — A soul which truly loves God regards all 
the things of this world as nothing. The loss of goods, the 
disgrace of the world, torments, sickness, and other afflic- 
tions are bitter to the senses, but appear light to him that 
loves. If we cannot bear our trials with patience and silence, 
it is because we love God only in words. " One who is sloth- 
ful and lukewarm complains of every thing, and calls the 
lightest precepts hard," says Thomas a Kempis. 



ST. COLUMBA, OR COLUMKILLE, ABBOT. 

St. Columba, the apostle of the Picts, was born of a 
noble family, at Gartan, in the county of Tyrconnel, a.d. 521. 
From early childhood he gave himself to God. In all his 
labors — and they were many — his chief thought was heaven 
and how he should secure the way thither. The result was 
that he lay on the bare floor, with a stone for his pillow, and 
fasted all the year round; yet the sweetness of his counte- 
nance told of the holy soul's interior serenity. Though 
! austere, he was not morose ; and, often as he longed to die, 
he was untiring in good works throughout his life. After he 
had been made abbot, his zeal offended King Dermot ; and 
in 565 the Saint departed for Scotland, where he founded a 
hundred religious houses and converted the Picts, who, in 
gratitude, gave him the island of Iona. There St. Columba 
founded his celebrated monastery, the school of apostolic 
missionaries and martyrs, and for centuries the last resting- 
place of Saints and kings. Four years before his death, our 
Saint had a vision of angels, who told him that the day of his 
death had been deferred four years, in answer to the prayers 
of his children; whereat the Saint wept bitterly, and cried 
out, " Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged! " for he 
desired above all things to reach his true home. How dif- 



June 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



301 



ferent is the conduct of most men, who dread death above 
every thing, instead of wishing " to be dissolved, and to be 
with Christ " ! On the day of his peaceful death, in the 
seventy-seventh year of his age, surrounded in choir by his 
spiritual children, the 9th June, a.d. 597, he said to his dis- 
ciple Diermit, " This day is called the Sabbath, that is, the day 
of rest, and such will it truly be to me ; for it will put an end 
to my labors." Then, kneeling before the altar, he received 




the Viaticum, and sweetly slept in the Lord. His relics were 
carried to Down and laid in the same shrine with the bodies 
of St. Patrick and St. Brigid. 

Reflection. — The thought of the world to come will 
always make us happy, and yet strict with ourselves in all our 
duties. The more perfect we become, the sooner shall we 
behold that for which St. Columba sighed. 



302 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June io- 



JUNE io.- ST. MARGARET OF SCOTLAND. 

St. Margaret's name signifies " pearl ; " "a fitting 
name," says Theodoric, her confessor and her first biog- 
rapher, " for one such as she." Her soul was like a precious 
pearl. A life spent amidst the luxury of a royal court never 




dimmed its lustre, or stole it away from Him who had bought 

it with His blood. She was the granddaughter of an English 
king; and in 1070 she became the bride of Malcolm, and 
reigned Queen of Scotland till her death in 1093. How did 
she become a Saint in a position where sanctity is so difficult? 
First, she burned with zeal for the house of God. She built 
churches and monasteries ; she busied herself in making vest- 
ments ; she could not rest till she saw the laws of God and His 
Church observed throughout her realm. Next, amidst a 
thousand cares, she found time to converse with God — order- 
ing her piety with such sweetness and discretion that she 
won her husband to sanctity like her own. He used to rise 
with her at night for prayer ; he loved to kiss the holy book© 



June ii.j 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



303 



she used, and sometimes he would steal them away, and 
bring them back to his wife covered with jewels. Lastly, 
with virtues so great, she wept constantly over her sins, and 
begged her confessor to correct her faults. St. Margaret 
did not neglect her duties in the world because she was not of 
it. Never was a better mother. She spared no pains in the 
education of her eight children, and their sanctity was the 
fruit of her prudence and her zeal. Never was a better 
queen. She was the most trusted counsellor of her husband, 
and she labored for the material improvement of the country. 
But, in the midst of the world's pleasures, she sighed for the 
better country, and accepted death as a release. On her 
deathbed she received the news that her husband and her 
eldest son were slain in battle. She thanked God, who had 
sent this last affliction as a penance for her sins. After 
receiving Holy Viaticum, she was repeating the prayer from 
the Missal, " O Lord Jesus Christ, who by Thy death didst 
give life to the world, deliver me." At the words " deliver 
me," says her biographer, she took her departure to Christ, 
the Author of true liberty. 

Reflection. — All perfection consists in keeping a guard 
upon the heart. Wherever we are, we can make a solitude 
in our hearts, detach ourselves from the world, and converse 
familiarly with God. Let us take St. Margaret for our 
example and encouragement. 



JUNE 11.— ST. BARNABAS, APOSTLE. 

We read that in the first days of the Church, " the multi- 
tude of believers had but one heart and one soul; neither did 
any one say that aught of the things which he possessed 
was his own." Of this fervent company, one only is singled 
out by name, Joseph, a rich Levite, from Cyprus. " He hav- 
ing land sold it, and brought the price and laid it at the feet 
of the Apostles." They now gave him a new name, Barna- 
bas, the son of consolation. " He was a good man, full 
of the Holy Ghost and of faith," and was soon chosen for an 



304 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June ii. 



important mission to the rapidly-growing Church of Antioch. 
Here he perceived the great work which was to be done 
among the Greeks, so hastened to fetch St. Paul from his 
retirement at Tarsus. It was at Antioch that the two Saints 
were called to the apostolate of the Gentiles, and hence they 
set out together to Cyprus and the cities of Asia Minor. 
Their preaching struck men with amazement, and some cried 
out; " The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men," 




calling Paul Mercury, and Barnabas Jupiter. The Saints 
travelled together to the Council of Jerusalem, but shortly 
after this they parted. When Agabus prophesied a great 
famine, Barnabas, no longer rich, was chosen by the faithful 
at Antioch as most fit to bear, with St. Paul, their generous 
offerings to the Church of Jerusalem. The gentle Barnabas, 
keeping with him John, surnamed Mark, whom St. Paul dis- 
trusted, betook himself to Cyprus, where the sacred history 
leaves him ; and here, at a later period, he won his martyr's 
crown. 

Reflection. — St. Barnabas's life is full of suggestions to 
us who live in days when once more the abundant alms of the 



June 12.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 305 

faithful are sorely needed by the whole Church, from the 
Sovereign Pontiff to the poor children in our streets. 



JUNE 12.— ST. JOHN OF ST. FACUNDUS. 

St. John was born at St. Fagondez, in Spain. At an 
early age he held several benefices in the diocese of Burgos, 
till the reproaches of his conscience forced him to resign 
them all except one chapel, where he said Mass daily, 




preached and catechised. After this he studied theology at 
Salamanca, and then labored for some time as a most devoted 
missionary priest. Ultimately he became a hermit of the 
Augustinian Order, in the same city. There his life was 
marked by a singular devotion to the Holy Mass. Each night 
after Matins he remained in prayer till the hour of celebra- 
tion, when he offered the Adorable Sacrifice with the most 
tender piety, often enjoying the sight of Jesus tn glory, and 
holding sweet colloquies with Him. The power of his per- 
sonal holiness was seen in his preaching, which produced a 



3o6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 13. 



complete reformation in Salamanca. He had a special gift 
of reconciling differences, and was enabled to put an end to 
the quarrels and feuds among noblemen, at that period very 
common and fatal. The boldness shown by St. John in 
reproving vice endangered his life. A powerful noble, hav- 
ing been corrected by the Saint for oppressing his vassals, 
sent two assassins to slay him. The holiness of the Saint's 
aspect, however, caused by that peace which continually 
reigned in his soul, struck such awe into their minds that they 
could not execute their purpose, but humbly besought his 
forgiveness. And the nobleman himself, falling sick, was 
brought to repentance, and recovered his health by the 
prayers of the Saint whom he had endeavored to murder. 
He was also most zealous in denouncing those hideous vices 
which are a fruitful source of strife, and it was in defence of 
holy purity that he met his death. A lady of noble birth but 
evil life, whose companion in sin St. John had converted, con- 
trived to administer a fatal poison to the Saint. After 
several months of terrible suffering, borne with unvarying 
patience, St. John went to his reward on June nth, 1479. 

Reflection. — All men desire peace, but those alone 
enjoy it who, like St. John, are completely dead to them- 
selves, and love to bear all things for Christ. 



In 1 22 1 St. Francis held a general chapter at Assisi ; when 
the others dispersed, there lingered behind, unknown and 
neglected, a poor Portuguese friar, resolved to ask for and to 
refuse nothing. Nine months later, Fra Antonio rose under 
obedience to preach to the religious assembled at Forli, 
when, as the discourse proceeded, " the Hammer of Here- 
tics," " the Ark of the Testament," " the eldest son of St. 
Francis," stood revealed in all his sanctity, learning, and 
eloquence before his rapt and astonished brethren. Devoted 
from earliest youth to prayer and study among the canons 
regular, Ferdinand de Bulloens, as his name was in the world, 



JUNE 13.— ST. ANTONY OF PADUA. 




June 13.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



307 



had been stirred, by the spirit and example of the first five 
Franciscan martyrs, to put on their habit and preach the 
faith to the Moors in Africa. Denied a martyr's palm, and 
enfeebled by sickness, at the age of twenty-seven he was 
taking silent but merciless revenge upon himself in the 
humblest offices of his community. From this obscurity he 
was now called forth, and for nine years France, Italy, and 
Sicily heard his voice, saw his miracles, and men's hearts 




turned to God. One night, when St. Antony was staying 
with a friend in the city of Padua, his host saw brilliant rays 
streaming under the door of the Saint's room, and on look- 
ing through the keyhole, he beheld a little Child of marvel- 
lous beauty standing upon a book which lay open upon the 
table, and clinging with both arms round Antony's neck. 
With an ineffable sweetness he watched the tender caresses 
of the Saint and his wondrous Visitor. At last the Child 
vanished, and Fra Antonio, opening the door, charged his 
friend, by the love of Him whom he had seen, to " tell the 
vision to no man " as long as he was alive. Suddenly, in 
123 1, our Saint's brief apostolate was closed, and the voices 



308 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 14. 



of children were heard crying along the streets of Padua, 
"Our father, St. Antony, is dead." The following year, the 
church-bells of Lisbon rang without ringers, while at Rome 
one of its sons was inscribed among the Saints of God. 

Reflection. — Let us love to pray and labor unseen, and 
cherish in the secret of our hearts the graces of God and the 
growth of our immortal souls. Like St. Antony, let us 
attend to this, and leave the rest to God. 



JUNE 14.— ST. BASIL THE GREAT. 

St. Basil was born in Asia Minor. Two of his brothers 
became bishops, and, together with his mother and sister, 
are honored as Saints. He studied with great success at 
Athens, where he formed with St. Gregory Nazianzen the 




most tender friendship. He then taught oratory; but dread- 
ing the honors of the world, he gave up all, and became the 
father of the monastic life in the East. The Arian heretics, 
supported by the court, were then persecuting the Church;, 



June 15.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



309 



and Basil was summoned from his retirement by his bishop 
to give aid against them. His energy and zeal soon miti- 
gated the disorders of the Church, and his solid and eloquent 
words silenced the heretics. On the death of Eusebius, he 
was chosen Bishop of Csesarea. His commanding character, 
his firmness and energy, his learning and eloquence, and not 
less his humility and the exceeding austerity of his life, made 
him a model for bishops. When St. Basil was required to 
admit the Arians to Communion, the prefect, rinding that 
soft words had no effect, said to him, "Are you mad, that 
you resist the will before which the whole world bows? Do 
you not dread the wrath of the emperor, nor exile, nor 
death? " " No," said Basil calmly; " he who has nothing to 
lose need not dread loss of goods; you cannot exile me, for 
the whole earth is my home; as for death, it would be the 
greatest kindness you could bestow upon me; torments can- 
not harm me: one blow would end my frail life and my suffer- 
ings together." " Never," said the prefect, " has any one 
dared to address me thus." " Perhaps," suggested Basil, 
" you never before measured your strength with a Christian 
bishop." The emperor desisted from his commands. St. 
Basil's whole life was one of suffering. He lived amidst 
jealousies and misunderstandings and seeming disappoint- 
ments. But he sowed the seed which bore goodly fruit in 
the next generation, and was God's instrument in beating 
back the Arian and other heretics in the East, and restoring 
the spirit of discipline and fervor in the Church. He died 
in 379, and is venerated as a Doctor of the Church. 

Reflection. — " Fear God," says the Imitation of Christ, 
" and thou shalt have no need of being afraid of any man." 

JUNE 15.— SS. VITUS, CRESCENTIA, AND MODESTUS, 

MARTYRS. 

v a itus was a child nobly born, who had" the happiness to 
be instructed in the faith, and inspired with the most per- 
fect sentiments of his religion, by his Christian nurse, named 
Crescentia, and her faithful husband, Modestus. His father, 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 15. 



Hylas, was extremely incensed when he discovered the 
child's invincible aversion to idolatry; and finding him not 
to be overcome by stripes and such like chastisements, he 
delivered him up to Valerian, the governor, who in vain tried 
all his arts to work him into compliance with his father's will 
and the emperor's edicts. He escaped out of their hands, 
and, together with Crescentia and Modestus, fled into Italy. 
They there met with the crown of martyrdom in Lucania, 




in the persecution of Diocletian. The heroic spirit of mar- 
tyrdom which we admire in St. Vitus was owing to the early 
impressions of piety which he received from the lessons and 
example of a virtuous nurse. Of such infinite importance 
is the choice of virtuous preceptors, nurses, and servants 
about children. 

Reflection. — What happiness for an infant to be 
formed naturally to all virtue, and for the spirit of sim- 
plicity, meekness, goodness, and piety to be moulded in its 
tender frame! Such a foundation being well laid, further 
graces are abundantly communicated, and a soul improves 
daily these seeds, and rises to the height of Christian virtue 
often without experiencing severe conflicts of the passions. 



June 16.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



JUNE 16.— ST. JOHN FRANCIS REGIS. 

St. John Francis Regis was born in Languedoc, a.d.. 
1597. From his tenderest years he showed evidences of 
uncommon sanctity by his innocence of life, modesty, and 
love of prayer. At the age of eighteen he entered the Soci- 
ety of Jesus. As soon as his studies were over, he gave 
himself entirely to the salvation of souls. The winter he 




spent in country missions, principally in mountainous dis- 
tricts; and in spite of the rigor of the weather and the igno- 
rance and roughness of the inhabitants, he labored with such 
success that he gained innumerable souls to God both from 
heresy and from a bad life. The summer he gave to the 
towns. There his time was taken up in visiting hospitals 
and prisons, in preaching and instructing, and in assisting 
all who in any way stood in need of his services. In his 
works of mercy, God often helped him by miracles. In 
November, 1637, the Saint set out for his second mission 
at Marthes. His road lay across valleys filled with snow 



312 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 17. 



and over mountains frozen and precipitous. In climbing 
one of the highest, a bush to which he was clinging gave 
way, and he broke his leg in the fall. By the help of his 
companion he accomplished the remaining six miles, and 
then, instead of seeing a surgeon, insisted on being taken 
straight to the confessional. There, after several hours, the 
curate of the parish found him still seated, and when his leg 
was examined the fracture was found to be miraculously 
healed. He was so inflamed with the love of God that he 
seemed to breathe, think, speak of that alone, and he offered 
up the Holy Sacrifice with such attention and fervor that 
those who assisted at it could not but feel something of the 
fire with which he burned. After twelve years of unceasing 
labor, he rendered his pure and innocent soul to his Creator, 
at the age of forty-four. 

Reflection. — When St. John Francis was struck in the 
face by a sinner whom he was reproving, he replied, " If you 
only knew me, you would give me much more than that." 
His meekness converted the man, and it is in this spirit that 
he teaches us to win souls to God. How much might we 
do if we could forget our own wants in remembering those 
of others, and put our trust in God! 



JUNE 17.— ST. AVITUS, ABBOT. 

St. Avitus was a native of Orleans, and, retiring into 
Auvergne, took the monastic habit, together with St. Calais, 
in the Abbey of Menat, at that time very small, though after- 
ward enriched by Queen Brunehault, and by St. Boner, 
Bishop of Clermont. The two Saints soon after returned 
to Miscy, a famous abbey situated a league and a half below 
Orleans. It was founded toward the end of the reign of 
Clovis I. by St. Euspicius, a holy priest, honored on the 14th 
of June, and his nephew St. Maximin or Mesmin, whose 
name this monastery, which is now of the Cistercian Order, 
bears. Many call St. Maximin the first abbot, others St. 
Euspicius the first, St. Maximin the second, and St. Avitus 



June 17.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



313 



the third. But our Saint and St. Calais made not a long- 
stay at Miscy, though St. Maximin gave them a gracious 
reception. In quest of a closer retirement, St. Avitus, who 
had succeeded St. Maximin, soon after resigned the abbacy, 
and with St. Calais lived a recluse in the territory now called 
Dunois, on the frontiers of La Perche. Others joining 
them, St. Calais retired into a forest in Maine, and Kin°r 
Clothaire built a church and monastery for St. Avitus and 




his companions. This is at present a Benedictine nunnery, 
called St. Avy of Chateaudun, and is situated on the Loire, 
at the foot of the hill on which the town of Chateaudun is 
built, in the diocese of Chartres. Three famous monks, Leo- 
bin, afterward Bishop of Chartres, Euphronius, and Rusti- 
cus, attended our Saint to his happy death, which happened 
about the year 530. His body was carried to Orleans, and 
buried with great pomp in that city. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 18. 



JUNE 18.— SS. MARCUS AND M ARCELLI ANUS , MARTYRS. 

Marcus and Marcellianus were twin brothers of an illus- 
trious family in Rome, who had been converted to the faith 
in their youth and were honorably married. Diocletian 
ascending the imperial throne in 284, the heathens raised 
persecutions. These martyrs were thrown into prison, and 




condemned to be beheaded. Their friends obtained a respite 
of the execution for thirty days, that they might prevail on 
them to worship the false gods. Tranquillinus and Martia, 
their afflicted heathen parents, in company with their sons' 
own wives and their little babes, endeavored to move them 
by the most tender entreaties and tears. St. Sebastian, an 
officer of the emperor's household, coming to Rome soon 
after their commitment, daily visited and encouraged them. 
The issue of the conferences was the happy conversion of 
the father, mother, and wives, also of Nicostratus, the public 
register, and soon after of Chromatius, the judge, who set 
the Saints at liberty, and, abdicating the magistracy, retired 



June 19.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



315 



into the country. Marcus and Marcellianus were hid, by 
a Christian officer of the household, in his apartments in the 
palace; but they were betrayed by an apostate, and retaken. 
Fabian, who had succeeded Chromatius, condemned them to 
be bound to two pillars, with their feet nailed to the same. 
In this posture they remained a day and a night, and on 
the following day were stabbed with lances. 

Reflection. — -We know not what we are till we have 
been tried. It costs nothing to say we love God above all 
things, and to show the courage of martyrs at a distance 
from the danger; but that love is sincere which has stood 
the proof. " Persecution shows who is a hireling, and who 
a true pastor," says St. Bernard. 



JUNE 19.— ST, JULIANA FALCONIERI. 

Juliana Falconieri was born, in answer to prayer, 
a.d. 1270. Her father built the splendid church of the An- 
nunziata in Florence, while her uncle. Blessed Alexius, 
became one of the founders of the Servite Order. Under 
his care, Juliana grew up, as he said, more like an angel than 
a human being. Such was her modesty that she never used 
a mirror or gazed upon the face of a man during her whole 
life. The mere mention of sin made her shudder and trem- 
ble, and once hearing a scandal related she fell into a dead 
swoon. Her devotion to the sorrows of Our Lady drew 
her to the Servants of Mary; and, at the age of fourteen, she 
refused an offer of marriage, and received the habit from 
St. Philip Benizi himself. Her sanctity attracted many 
novices, for whose direction she was bidden to draw up a 
rule, and thus with reluctance she became foundress of the 
" Mantellate." She was with her children as their servant 
rather than their mistress, while outside her convent she 
led a life of apostolic charity, converting sinners, reconciling 
enemies, and healing the sick by sucking with her own lips 
their ulcerous sores. She was sometimes rapt for whole 
days in ecstasy, and her prayers saved the Servite Order 



316 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 19. 



when it was in danger of being suppressed. She was vis- 
ited in her last hour by angels in the form of white doves, 
and Jesus Himself, as a beautiful child, crowned her with a 
garland of flowers. She wasted away through a disease of 
the stomach, which prevented her taking food. She bore 
her silent agony with constant cheerfulness, grieving only 
for the privation of Holy Communion. At last, when, in 
her seventieth year, she had sunk to the point of death, she 




begged to be allowed once more to see and adore the Blessed 
Sacrament. It was brought to her cell, and reverently laid 
on a corporal, which was placed over her heart. At this 
moment she expired, and the Sacred Host disappeared. 
After her death the form of the Host was found stamped 
upon her heart in the exact spot over which the Blessed 
Sacrament had been placed. Juliana died a.d. 1340. 

Reflection. — " Meditate often," says St. Paul of the 
Cross, " on the sorrows of the Holy Mother, sorrows insepa- 
rable from those of her beloved Son. If you seek the Cross, 
there you will find the Mother; and where the Mother is 
there also is the Son." 



June 20,] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



317 



JUNE 20.— ST. SILVERIUS, POPE AND MARTYR. 

Silverius was son of Pope Hermisdas, who had been 
married before he entered the ministry. Upon the death of 
St. Agapetas, after a vacancy of forty-seven days, Silverius, 
then subdeacon, was chosen Pope, and ordained on the 8th 
of June, 536. 

Theodora, the empress of Justinian, resolved to promote 
the sect of the Acephali. She endeavored to win Silverius 




over to her interest, and wrote to him, ordering that he 
should acknowledge Anthimus lawful bishop, or repair in 
person to Constantinople and re-examine his cause on the 
spot. Without the least hesitation or delay, Silverius 
returned her a short answer, by which he peremptorily gave 
her to understand that he neither could nor would obey her 
unjust demands and betray the cause of the Catholic faith. 
The empress, rinding that she could expect nothing from 
him, resolved to have him deposed. Vigilius, archdeacon of 
the Roman Church, a man of address, was then at Constan- 



3i8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 20. 



tinople. To him the empress made her application, and find- 
ing him taken by the bait of ambition, promised to make him 
Pope, and to bestow on him seven hundred pieces of gold, 
provided he would engage himself to condemn the Council 
of Chalcedon and receive to communion the three deposed 
Eutychian patriarchs, Anthimus of Constantinople, Severus 
of Antioch, and Theodosius of Alexandria. The unhappy 
Vigilius having assented to these conditions, the empress 
sent him to Rome, charged with a letter to the general 
Belisarius, commanding him to drive out Silverius and to 
contrive the election of Vigilius to the pontificate. Vigilius 
urged the general to execute the project. The more easily 
to carry out this project, the Pope was accused of cor- 
responding with the enemy, and a letter was produced, which 
was pretended to have been written by him to the king of 
the Goths, inviting him into the city, and promising to open 
the gates to him. Silverius was banished to Patara, in Lycia. 
The bishop of that city received the illustrious exile with all 
possible marks of honor and respect ; and thinking himself 
bound to undertake his defence, repaired to Constantinople, 
and spoke boldly to the emperor, terrifying him with the 
threats of the divine judgments for the expulsion of a bishop 
of so great a see, telling him, " There are many kings in^the 
world, but there is only one Pope over the Church of the 
whole world." It must be observed that these were the 
words of an Oriental bishop, and a clear confession of the 
supremacy of the Roman See. Justinian appeared startled 
at the atrocity of the proceedings, and gave orders that Sil- 
verius should be sent back to Rome, but the enemies of the 
Pope contrived to prevent it, and he was intercepted on his 
road toward Rome and carried to a desert island, where he 
died on the 20th of June, 538. 



June 21.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



319 



JUNE 21.— ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA. 

St. Aloysius, the eldest son of Ferdinand Gonzaga, Mar- 
quis of Castiglione, was born on the 9th of March, 1568. 
The first words he pronounced were the holy names of Jesus 
and Mary. When he was nine years of age he made vow of 
perpetual virginity, and by a special grace was ever exempted 
from temptations against purity. He received his first com- 
munion at the hands of St. Charles Borromeo. At an early 
age he resolved to leave the world, and in a vision was 




directed by our Blessed Lady to join the Society of Jesus. 
The Saint's mother rejoiced on learning his determination to 
become a religious, but his father for three years refused his 
consent. At length St. Aloysius obtained permission to 
enter the novitiate on the 25th of November, 1585. He took 
his vows after two years, and went through the ordinary 
course of philosophy and theology. He was wont to say he 
doubted whether without penance grace would continue to 
make head against nature, which, when not afflicted and 



320 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 22. 



chastised, tends gradually to relapse into its old state, losing 
the habit of suffering acquired by the labor of years. " I 
am a crooked piece of iron," he said, " and am come into 
religion to be made straight by the hammer of mortification 
and penance." During his last year of theology a malignant 
fever broke out in Rome; the Saint offered himself for the 
service of the sick, and he was accepted for the dangerous 
duty. Several of the brothers caught the fever, and Aloysius 
was of the number. He was brought to the point of death, 
but recovered, only to fall, however, into slow fever, which 
carried him off after three months. He died, repeating the 
Holy Name, a little after midnight between the 20th and 21st 
of June on the octave-day of Corpus Christi, being rather 
more than twenty-three years of age. 

Reflection. — Cardinal Bellarmine, the Saint's con- 
fessor, testified that he had never mortally offended God. 
Yet he chastised his body rigorously, rose at night to pray, 
and shed many tears for his sins. Pray that, not having fol- 
lowed his innocence, you may yet imitate his penance. 



JUNE 22.— ST, PAULINUS OF NOLA. 

Paulinus was of a family which boasted of a long line of 
senators, prefects, and consuls. He was educated with great 
care, and his genius and eloquence, in prose and verse, were 
more than doubled his wealth by marriage, and was one of 
the admiration of St. Jerome and St. Augustine. He had 
the foremost men of his time. Though he was the chosen 
friend of Saints; and had a great devotion to St. Felix of 
Nola, he was still only a catechumen, trying to serve two 
masters. But God drew him to Himself along the way of 
sorrows and trials. He received baptism, withdrew into 
Spain to be alone, and then, in consort with his holy wife, 
sold all their vast estates in various parts of the empire, dis- 
tributing their proceeds so prudently that St. Jerome says 
East and West were filled with his alms. He was then 
ordained priest, and retired to Nola in Campania. There he 



]VSE 22.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



321 



rebuilt the Church of St. Felix with great magnificence, and 
served it night and day, living a life of extreme abstinence 
and toil. In 409 he was chosen bishop, and for more than 
thirty years so ruled as to be conspicuous in an age blessed 
with many great and wise bishops. St. Gregory the Great 
tells us that when the Vandals of Africa had made a descent 
on Campania, Paulinus spent all he had in relieving the dis- 
tress of his people and redeeming them from slavery. At 




last there came a poor widow; her only son had been carried 
off by the son-in-law of the Vandal King. " Such as I have I 
give thee," said the Saint to her; " we will go to Africa, and I 
will give myself for your son." Having overborne her resist- 
ance, they went, and Paulinus was accepted in place of the 
widow's son, and employed as gardener. After a time the 
king found out, by divine interposition, that his son-in-law's 
slave was the great Bishop of Nola. He at once set him 
free, granting him also the freedom of all the townsmen of 
Nola who were in slavery. One who knew him well says he 
was meek as Moses, priestlike as Aaron, innocent as Samuel, 
tender as David, wise as Solomon, apostolic as Peter, loving 
as John, cautious as Thomas, keen-sighted as Stephen, fer- 
vent as Apollos. He died a.d. 431. 



322 " LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [June 23. 

Reflection. — " Go to Campania," writes St. Augustine; 
" there study Paulinus, that choice servant of God. With 
what generosity, with what still greater humility, he has 
flung from him the burden of this world's grandeurs to take 
on him the yoke of Christ, and in His service how serene and 
unobtrusive his life!" 



JUNE 23 ST. ETHELDREDA, ABBESS. 



Born and brought up in the fear of God — her mother and 
three sisters are numbered among the Saints — Etheldreda 
had but one aim in life, to devote herself to His service in the 




religious state. Her parents, however, had other views for 
her, and, in spite of her tears and prayers, she was compelled 
to become the wife of Tonbercht, a tributary of the Mercian 
king. She lived with him as a virgin for three years, and at 
his death retired to the isle of Ely, that she might apply her- 
self wholly to heavenly things. This happiness was but 
short-lived; for Egfrid, the powerful king of Northumbria, 



June 24.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



323 



pressed his suit upon her with such eagerness that she was 
forced into a second marriage. Her life at his court was that 
of an ascetic rather than a queen : she lived with him not as 
a wife, but as a sister, and, observing a scrupulous regularity 
of discipline, devoted her time to works of mercy and love. 
After twelve years, she retired with her husband's consent 
to Coldingham Abbey, which was then under the rule of St. 
Ebba, and received the veil from the hands of St. Wilfrid. 
As soon as Etheldreda had left the court of her husband, he 
repented of having consented to her departure, and followed 
her, meaning to bring her back by force. She took refuge 
on a headland on the coast near Coldingham; and here a 
miracle took place, for the waters forced themselves a pas- 
sage round the hill, barring the further advance of Egfrid. 
The Saint remained in this island refuge for seven days, till 
the king, recognizing the divine will, agreed to leave her in 
peace. God, who by a miracle confirmed the Saint's voca- 
tion, will not fail us if, with a single heart, we elect for Him. 
In 672 she returned to Ely, and founded there a double 
monastery. The nunnery she governed herself, and was by 
her example a living rule of perfection to her sisters. Some 
time after her death, in 679, her body was found incorrupt, 
and St. Bede records many miracles worked by her relics. 

Reflection. — The soul cannot truly serve God while it 
is involved in the distractions and pleasures of the world. 
Etheldreda knew this, and chose rather to be a servant of 
Christ her Lord than the mistress of an earthly court. 
Resolve, in whatever state you are, to live absolutely 
detached from the world, and to separate yourself as much 
as possible from it. 

JUNE 24.— ST, JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

The birth of St. John was foretold by an angel of the 
Lord to his father, Zachary, who was offering incense in the 
temple. It was the office of St. John to prepare the way for 
Christ, and before he was born into the world he began to 
live for the Incarnate God. Even in the womb he knew the 



324 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 24. 



presence of Jesus and of Mary, and he leaped with joy at the 
glad coming of the Son of Man. In his youth he remained 
hidden, because He for whom he waited was hidden also. 
But before Christ's public life began, a divine impulse led St. 
John into the desert ; there, with locusts for his food and hair- 
cloth on his skin, in silence and in prayer, he chastened his 
own soul. Then, as crowds broke in upon his solitude, he 
warned them to flee from the wrath to come, and gave them 




the baptism of penance, while they confessed their sins. At 
last there stood in the crowd one whom St. John did not 
know, till a voice within told him that it was his Lord. With 
the baptism of St. John, Christ began His penance for the 
sins of His people, and St. John saw the Holy Ghost descend 
in bodily form upon Him. Then the Saint's work was done. 
He had but to point his own disciples to the Lamb, he had 
but to decrease as Christ increased. He saw all men leave 
him and go after Christ. " I told you," he said, " that I am 
not the Christ. The friend of the Bridegroom rejoiceth be- 
cause of the Bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore 
is fulfilled." St. John had been cast into the fortress of 
Machaerus by a worthless tyrant whose crimes he had 



June 25.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



325 



rebuked, and he was to remain there till he was beheaded, at 
the will of a girl who danced before this wretched king. In 
this time of despair, if St. John could have known despair, 
some of his old disciples visited him. St. John did not speak 
to them of himself, but he sent them to Christ, that they 
might see the proofs of His mission. Then the Eternal 
Truth pronounced the panegyric of the Saint who had lived 
and breathed for Him alone. " Verily I say unto you, 
Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a 
greater than John the Baptist." 

Reflection. — St. John was great before God because he 
forgot himself and lived for Jesus Christ, who is the source 
of all greatness. Remember that you are nothing; your 
own will and your own desires can only lead to misery and 
sin. Therefore sacrifice every day some one of your natural 
inclinations to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, and learn little 
by little to lose yourself in Him. 



JUNE 25.— ST, PROSPER OF AQUITAINE ST. WILLIAM 

OF MONTE- VERGINE. 

St. Prosper was born at Aquitaine, in the year 403. His 
works show that in his youth he had happily applied himself 
to all the branches both of polite and sacred learning. On 
account of the purity and sanctity of his manners, he is called 
by those of his age a holy and venerable man. Our Saint 
does not appear to have been any more than a layman ; but 
being of great virtue, and of extraordinary talents and learn- 
ing, he wrote several works in which he ably refuted the 
errors of heresy. St. Leo the Great, being chosen Pope in 
440, invited St. Prosper to Rome, made him his secretary, 
and employed him in the most important affairs of the 
Church. Our Saint crushed the Pelagian heresy, which 
began again to raise its head in that capital, and its final over- 
throw is said to be due to his zeal, learning, and unwearied 
endeavors. The date of his death is uncertain, but he was 
still living in 463. 



326 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [June 25. 




St. William, having lost his father and mother in his 
infancy, was brought up by his friends in great sentiments 
of piety; and at fifteen years of age, out of an earnest desire 
to lead a penitential life, he left Piedmont, his native country, 
made an austere pilgrimage to St. James's in Galicia, and 
afterward retired into the kingdom of Naples, where he 
chose for his abode a desert mountain, and lived in perpetual" 
contemplation and the exercises of most rigorous penitential 
austerities. Finding himself discovered and his contempla- 
tion interrupted, he changed his habitation and settled in a 
place called Monte-Vergine, situated between Nola and 
Benevento, in the same kingdom ; but his reputation followed 
him, and he was obliged by two neighboring priests to permit 
certain fervent persons to live with him and to imitate his 
ascetic practices. Thus, in 11 19, was laid the foundation of 
the religious congregation called de Monte-Vergine. The 
Saint died on the 25th of June, 1142. 



June 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



327 



JUNE 26,— SS JOHN AND PAUL, MARTYRS. 

These two Saints were both officers in the army under 
Julian the Apostate, and received the crown of martyrdom, 
probably in 362. They glorified God by a double victory: 
they despised the honors of the world, and triumphed over 
its threats and torments. They saw many wicked men 




prosper in their impiety, but were not dazzled by their 
example. They considered that worldly prosperity which 
attends impunity in sin is the most dreadful of all judgments ; 
and how false and short-lived was this glittering prosperity 
of Julian, who in a moment fell into the pit which he himself 
had dug! But the martyrs, by the momentary labor of their 
conflict, purchased an immense weight of never-fading glory ; 
their torments were, by their heroic patience and invincible 
virtue and fidelity, a spectacle worthy of God, who looked 
down upon them from the throne of His glory, and held His 
arm stretched out to strengthen them, and to put on their 
heads immortal crowns in the happy moment of their victory. 



328 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 27. 



Reflection. — The Saints always accounted that they 
had done nothing for Christ so long as they had not resisted 
to blood, and by pouring forth the last drop completed their 
sacrifice. Every action of our lives ought to spring from this 
fervent motive, and we should consecrate ourselves to the 
divine service with our whole strength ; we must always bear 
in mind that we owe to God all that we are, and, after all we 
can do, are unprofitable servants, and do only what we are 
bound to do. 



JUNE 27.— ST. LADISLAS, KING 

Ladislas the First, son of Bela, King of Hungary, was 
born in 1041. By the pertinacious importunity of the people 
he was compelled, much against his own inclination, to 
ascend the throne, in 1080. He restored the good laws and 




discipline wmch St. Stephen had established, and which seem 
to have been obliterated by the confusion of the times. 
Chastity, meekness, gravity, charity, and piety were from his 
infancy the distinguishing parts of his character; avarice and 



June 28.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



329 



ambition were his sovereign aversion, so perfectly had the 
maxims of the Gospel extinguished in him all propensity to 
those base passions. His life in the palace was most austere ; 
he was frugal and abstemious, but most liberal to the Church 
and the poor. Vanity, pleasure, or idle amusements had no 
share in his actions or time, because all his moments were 
consecrated to the exercises of religion and the duties of his 
station, in which he had only the divine will in view, and 
sought only God's greater honor. He watched over a strict 
and impartial administration of justice, was generous and 
merciful to his enemies, and vigorous in the defence of his 
country and the Church. He drove the Huns out of his ter- 
ritories, and vanquished the Poles, Russians, and Tartars. 
He was preparing to command, as general-in-chief, the great 
expedition of the Christians against the Saracens for the 
recovery of the Holy Land, when God called him to Himself, 
on the 30th of July, 1095. 

Reflection. — The Saints filled all their moments with 
good works and great actions; and, whilst they labored for 
an immortal crown, the greatest share of worldly happiness 
of which this life is capable fell in their way without being 
even looked for by them. In their afflictions themselves, 
virtue afforded them the most solid comfort, pointed out the 
remedy, and converted their tribulations into the greatest 
advantages. 



JUNE 28.— ST. IRENjEUS, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

This Saint was born about the year 120. He was a 
Grecian, probably a native of Lesser Asia. His parents, who 
were Christians, placed him under the care of the great St. 
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. It was in so holy a school that 
he learned that sacred science which rendered him afterward 
a great ornament of the Church and the terror of her 
enemies. St. Polycarp cultivated his rising genius, and 
formed his mind to piety by precepts and example ; and the 
zealous scholar was careful to reap all the advantages which 



330 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 28. 



were offered him by the happiness of such a master. Such 
was his veneration for his tutor's sanctity that he observed 
every action and whatever he saw in that holy man, the 
better to copy his example and learn his spirit. He listened 
to his instructions with an insatiable ardor, and so deeply did 
he engrave them on his heart that the impressions remained 
most lively even to his old age. In order to confute the 
heresies of his age, this father made himself acquainted with 
the most absurd conceits of their philosophers, by which 




means he was qualified to trace up every error to its sources 
and set it in its full light. St. Polycarp sent St. Irenasus into 
Gaul, in company with some priest ; he was himself ordained 
priest of the Church of Lyons by St. Pothinus. St. Pothinus 
having glorified God by his happy death, in the year 177, our 
Saint was chosen the second Bishop of Lyons. By his 
preaching, he in a short time converted almost that whole 
country to the faith. He wrote several works against heresy, 
and at last, with many others, suffered martyrdom about the 
year 202, under the Emperor Severus, at Lyons. 



June 29.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



33* 



Reflection. — Fathers and mothers, and heads of fami- 
lies, spiritual and temporal, should bear in mind that inferiors 
" will not be corrected by words " alone, but that example 
is likewise needful. 



JUNE 29. — ST. PETER, APOSTLE. 

Peter was of Bethsaida in Galilee, and as he was fishing 
on the lake was called by Our Lord to be one of His Apos- 
tles. He was poor and unlearned, but candid, eager, and 
loving. In his heart, first of all, grew up the conviction, 




and from his lips came the confession, " Thou art the Christ, 
the Son of the living God ; " and so Our Lord chose him, 
and fitted him to be the Rock of His Church, His Vicar on 
earth, the head and prince of His Apostles, the centre and 
very principle of the Church's oneness, the source of all 
spiritual powers, and the unerring teacher of His truth. All 
Scripture is alive with him; but after Pentecost he stands out 
in the full grandeur of his office. He fills the vacant apos- 



332 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[June 30. 



tolic throne; admits the Jews by thousands into the fold; 
opens it to the Gentiles in the person of Cornelius; founds, 
and for a time rules, the Church at Antioch, and sends Mark 
to found that of Alexandria. Ten years after the Ascension, 
he went to Rome, the centre of the majestic Roman Empire, 
where were gathered the glories and the wealth of the earth 
and all the powers of evil. There he established his Chair, 
and for twenty-five years labored with St. Paul in building 
up the great Roman Church. He was crucified by order of 
Nero, and buried on the Vatican Hill. He wrote two Epis- 
tles, and suggested and approved the Gospel of St. Mark. 
Two hundred and sixty years after St. Peter's martyrdom 
came the open triumph of the Church. Pope St. Silvester, 
with bishops and clergy and the whole body of the faithful, 
went through Rome in procession to the Vatican Hill, sing- 
ing the praises of God till the seven hills rang again. The 
first Christian emperor, laying aside his diadem and his robes 
of state, began to dig the foundations of St. Peter's Church. 
And now on the site of that old church stands the noblest 
temple ever rai sed by man; beneath a towering canopy lie 
the great Apostles, in death, as in life, undivided; and there 
is the Chair of St. Peter. All around rest the martyrs of 
Christ — Popes, Saints, Doctors, from east and west — and 
high over all, the words, " Thou art Peter and on this Rock 
I will build my Church." It is the threshold of the Apostles 
and the centre of the world. 

Reflection. — Peter still lives on in his successors, and 
rules and feeds the flock committed to him. The reality of 
our devotion to him is the surest test of the purity of our 
faith. 

JUNE 30.— ST. PAUL. 

St. Paul was born at Tarsus, of Jewish parents, and 
studied at Jerusalem, at the feet of Gamaliel. While still a 
young man, he held the clothes of those who stoned the 
proto-martyr Stephen; and in his restless zeal he pressed on 
to Damascus, " breathing out threatenings and slaughter 



June 30.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



333 



against the disciples of Christ." But near Damascus a light 
from heaven struck him to the earth. He heard a voice 
which said, " Why persecutest thou Me? " He saw the form 
of Him who had been crucified for his sins, and then for three 
days he saw nothing more. He awoke from his trance 
another man — a new creature in Jesus Christ. He left 
Damascus for a long retreat in Arabia, and then, at the call 
of God, he carried the Gospel to the uttermost limits of the 




world, and for years he lived and labored with no thought 
but the thought of Christ crucified, no desire but to spend 
and be spent for Him. He became the Apostle of the Gen- 
tiles, whom he had been taught to hate, and wished himself 
anathema for his own countrymen, who sought his life. 
Perils by land and sea could not damp his courage, nor toil 
and suffering and age dull the tenderness of his heart. At 
last he gave blood for blood. In his youth he had imbibed 
the false zeal of the Pharisees at Jerusalem, the holy city of 
the former dispensation. With St. Peter he consecrated 
Rome, our holy city, by his martyrdom, and poured into its 
Church all his doctrine with all his blood. He left fourteen 



334 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July i. 



Epistles, which have been a fountain-head of the Church's 
doctrine, the consolation and delight of her greatest Saints. 
His interior life, so far as words can tell it, lies open before 
us in these divine writings, the life of one who has died for- 
ever to himself and risen again in Jesus Christ. " In what," 
says St. Chrysostom, " in what did this blessed one gain an 
advantage over the other Apostles? How comes it that he 
lives in all men's mouths throughout the world? Is it not 
through the virtue of his Epistles? " Nor will his work 
cease while the race of man continues. Even now, like a 
most chivalrous knight, he stands in our midst, and takes 
captive every thought to the obedience of Christ. 

Reflection. — St. Paul complains that all seek the things 
which are their own, and not the things which are Christ's. 
See if these words apply to you, and resolve to give your- 
self without reserve to God. 



JULY i.— ST. GAL, BISHOP. 

St. Gal was born at Clermont in Auvergne, about the 
year 489. His father was of the first houses of that province, 
and his mother was descended from the family of Vettius 
Apagatus, the celebrated Roman who suffered at Lyons for 
the faith of Christ. They both took special care of the edu- 
cation of their son, and, when he arrived at a proper age, 
proposed to have him married to the daughter of a respect- 
able senator. The Saint, who had taken a resolution to 
consecrate himself to God, withdrew privately from his 
father's house to the monastery of Cournon, near the city 
of Auvergne, and earnestly prayed to be admitted there 
amongst the monks; and having soon after obtained the 
consent of his parents, he with joy renounced all worldly 
vanities to embrace religious poverty. Here his eminent 
virtues distinguished him in a particular manner, and recom- 
mended him to Quintianus, Bishop of Auvergne, who pro- 
moted him to holy orders. The bishop dying in 527, St. Gal 
was appointed to succeed him, and in this new character his 



July i.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



335 



humility, charity, and zeal were conspicuous; above all, his 
patience in bearing injuries. Being once struck on the head 
by a brutal man, he discovered not the least emotion of 
anger or resentment, and by this meekness disarmed the 
savage of his rage. At another time, Evodius, who from a 
senator became a priest, having so far forgotten himself as 
to treat him in the most insulting manner, the Saint, without 
making the least reply, arose meekly from his seat and went 




to visit the churches of the city. Evodius was so touched 
by this conduct that he cast himself at the Saint's feet, in 
the middle of the street, and asked his pardon. From this 
time, they both lived on terms of the most cordial friendship. 
St. Gal was favored with the gift of miracles, and died about 
the year 553. 



33^ 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 2. 



JULY 2.— THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

The angel Gabriel, in the mystery of the Annunciation, 
informed the Mother of God that her cousin Elizabeth had 
miraculously conceived, and was then pregnant with a son 
who was to be the precursor of the Messiah. The Blessed 
Virgin out of humility concealed the wonderful dignity to 
which she was raised by the incarnation of the Son of God 




in her womb, but, in the transport of her holy joy and grati- 
tude, determined she would go to congratulate the mother 
of the Baptist. " Mary therefore arose," saith St. Luke, 
" and with haste went into the hilly country into a city of 
Judea, and, entering into the house of Zachary, saluted 
Elizabeth." What a blessing did the presence of the God- 
man bring to this house, the first which he honored in His 
humanity with His visit! But Mary is the instrument and 
means by which He imparts to it His divine benediction, to 
show us that she is a channel through which He delights to 
communicate to us His graces, and to encourage us to ask 



July 3.] 



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337 



them of Him through her intercession. At the voice of the 
Mother of God, but by the power and grace of her divine Son 
in her womb, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
the Infant in her womb conceived so great a joy as to leap 
and exult. At the same time, Elizabeth was filled with the 
Holy Ghost, and by his infused light she understood the 
great mystery of the Incarnation which God had wrought 
in Mary, whom humility prevented from disclosing it even 
to a Saint, and an intimate friend. In raptures of astonish- 
ment, Elizabeth pronounced her blessed above all other 
women, and cried out, " Whence is this to me that the 
mother of my Lord should come to me? " Mary, hearing 
her own praise, sunk the lower in the abyss of her nothing- 
ness, and in the transport of her humility, and melting in an 
ecstasy of love and gratitude, burst into that admirable can- 
ticle, the Magnificat. Mary stayed with her cousin almost 
three months, after which she returned to Nazareth. 

Reflection. — Whilst with the Church we praise God 
jfor the mercies and wonders which He wrought in this mys- 
tery, we ought to apply ourselves to the imitation of the 
virtues of which Mary sets us a perfect example. From her 
we ought particularly to learn the lessons by which we shall 
sanctify our visits and conversation, actions which are to so 
many Christians the_ sources of innumerable dangers and 
sins. 



JULY 3. — ST. HELIODORUS, BISHOP. 

This Saint was born at Dalmatia, St. Jerome's native 
country, and soon sought out that great Doctor, in order 
not only to follow his advice in matters relating to Christian 
perfection, but also to profit by his deep learning. The life 
of a recluse possessed peculiar attractions for him, but to 
enter a monastery it would be necessary to leave his spiritual 
master and director, and such a sacrifice he was not prepared 
to make. He remained in the world, though not of it, and, 
following the example of the holy anchorites, passed his time 



338 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July. 3 



in prayer and devout reading. He accompanied St. Jerome 
to the East, but the desire to revisit his native land, and to 
see his parents once more, drew him back to Dalmatia, 
although St. Jerome tried to persuade him to remain. He 
promised to return as soon as he had fulfilled the duty he 
owed his parents. In the meantime, finding his absence 
protracted, and fearing that the love of family and attach- 
ment to worldly things might lure him from his vocation, 




St. Jerome wrote him an earnest letter exhorting him to 
break entirely with the world, and to consecrate himself to 
the service of God. But the Lord, who disposes all things, 
had another mission for His servant. After the death of 
his mother, Heliodorus went to Italy, where he soon became 
noted for his eminent piety. He was made Bishop of Altino, 
and became one of the most distinguished prelates of an 
age fruitful in great men. He died about the year 290. 



July 4.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



339 



JULY 4. -ST. BERTHA, WIDOW, ABBESS. 

Bertha was the daughter of Count Rigobert and Ursana, 
related to one of the kings of Kent in England. In the 
twentieth year of her age, she was married to Sigefroi, by 
whom she had five daughters, two of whom, Gertrude and 
Deotila, were Saints. After her husband's death, she put 




on the veil in the nunnery which she had built at Blangy in 
Artois, a little distance from Hesdin. Her daughters, Ger- 
trude and Deotila, followed her example. She was perse- 
cuted by Roger, or Rotgar, who endeavored to asperse her 
with King Thierri III., to revenge his being refused Ger- 
trude in marriage. But this prince, convinced of the inno- 
cence of Bertha, then abbess over her nunnery, gave her a 
kind reception and took her under his protection. On her 
return to Blangy, Bertha finished her nunnery and caused 
three churches to be built, one in honor of St. Omer, another 
she called after St. Vaast, and the third in honor of St. 
Martin of Tours. And then, after establishing a regular 



34Q 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[Jul* 5, 



observance in her community, she left St. Deotila abbess in 
her stead, and shut herself in a cell, to pass the remainder 
of her days in prayer. She died about the year 725. A 
great part of her relics are kept at Blangy. 



JULY 5.— ST. PETER OF LUXEMBURG. 

Peter oe Luxemburg, descended both by his father and 
mother from the noblest families in Europe, was born in Lor- 
raine, in the year 1369. When but a schoolboy, twelve 
years of age, he went to London as a hostage for his brother, 




the Count of St. Pol, who had been taken prisoner. The 
English were so won by Peter's holy example that they 
released him at the end of the year, taking his word for the 
ransom. Richard II. now invited him to remain at the Eng- 
lish court; but Peter returned to Paris, determined to have 
no master but Christ. At the early age of fifteen, he was 
appointed, on account of his prudence and sanctity, Bishop 
of Metz, and made his public entry into his see barefoot and 



July 6.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



341 



riding an ass. He governed his diocese with all the zeal and 
prudence of maturity, and divided his revenues in three parts 
- — for the Church, the poor, and his household. His charities 
often led him personally destitute, and he had but twenty 
pence left when he died. Created Cardinal of St. George, 
his austerities in the midst of a court were so severe that he 
was ordered to moderate them. Peter replied, " I shall 
always be an unprofitable servant, but I can at least obey." 
Ten months after his promotion, he fell sick of a fever, and 
lingered for some time in a sinking condition, his holiness 
increasing as he drew near his end. St. Peter, it was 
believed, never stained his soul by mortal sin ; yet, as he grew 
in grace, his holy hatred of self became more and more 
intense. At length, when he had received the last Sacra- 
ments, he forced his attendants each in turn to scourge him 
for his faults, and then lay silent till he died. But God was 
pleased to glorify His servant. Among other miracles is the 
following: On July 5th, 1432, a child about twelve years 
old was killed by falling from a high tower, in the palace of 
Avignon, upon a sharp rock. The father, distracted with 
grief, picked up the scattered pieces of the skull and brains, 
and carried them in a sack, with the mutilated body of his 
son, to St. Peter's shrine, and with many tears besought the 
Saint's intercession. After a while, the child returned to life, 
and was placed upon the altar for all to witness. In honor 
of this miracle, the city of Avignon chose St. Peter as its 
patron Saint. He died a.d. 1387, aged eighteen years. 

Reflection. — St. Peter teaches us how, by self-denial, 
rank, riches, the highest dignities, and all this world can give, 
may serve to make a Saint. 

JULY 6.— ST. GOAR, PRIEST. 

St. Goar was born of an illustrious family, at Aquitaine. 
From his youth he was noted for his earnest piety, and, hav- 
ing been raised to sacred orders, he converted many sinners 
by the fervor of his preaching and the force of his example. 
Wishing to serve God entirely unknown to the world, he 



342 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 6. 



went over into Germany, and, settling in the neighborhood of 
Trier, he shut himself up in his cell, and arrived at such an 
eminent degree of sanctity as to be esteemed the oracle and 
miracle of the whole country. Sigebert, King of Austrasia, 
learning of the sanctity of Goar, wished to have him made 




Bishop of Metz, and for that purpose summoned him to 
court. The Saint, fearing the responsibilities of the office, 
prayed that he might be excused. He was seized with a 
fever, and died in 575. 



ST. PALLADIUS, BISHOP, APOSTLE OF THE SCOTS. 

The name of Palladius shows this Saint to have been a 
Roman, and most authors agree that he was deacon of the 
Church of Rome. At least St. Prosper, in his chronicle, in- 
forms us that when Agricola, a noted Pelagian, had cor- 
rupted the churches of Britain by introducing that pesti- 
lential heresy, Pope Celestine, at the instance of Palladius 
the deacon, in 429, sent thither St. Germanus, Bishop of 



J ULY 7j 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



343 



Auxerre, in quality of his legate, who, having ejected the 
heretics, brought back the Britons to the Catholic faith. In 
431 Pope Celestine sent Palladius, the first bishop, to the 
Scots then believing in Christ. The Irish writers of the lives 
of St. Patrick say that St. Palladius had preached in Ireland 
a little before St. Patrick, but that he was soon banished by 
the King of Leinster, and returned to North Britain, where 
he had first opened his mission. There seems to be no doubt 
that he was sent to the whole nation of the Scots, several 
colonies of whom had passed from Ireland into North Britain, 
and possessed themselves of part of the country, since called 
Scotland. After St. Palladius had left Ireland, he arrived 
among the Scots in North Britain, according to St. Prosper, 
in the consulate of Bassus and Antiochus, in the year 0/ 
Christ 431. He preached there with great zeal, and formed 
a considerable Church. The Scottish historians tell us that 
the faith was planted in North Britain about the year 200, in 
the time of King Donald, when Victor was Pope of Rome. 
But they all acknowledge that Palladius was the first bishop 
in that country, and style him their first apostle. The Saint 
died at Fordun, fifteen miles from Aberdeen, about the year 

450. 

Reflection. — St. Palladius surmounted every obstacle 
which a fierce nation had opposed to the establishment of the 
kingdom of Jesus Christ. Ought not our hearts to be im- 
pressed with the most lively sentiments of love and gratitude 
to our merciful God for having raised up such great and zeal- 
ous men, by whose ministry the light of true faith has been 
conveyed to us? 

JULY 7.— ST. PANT^ENUS, FATHER OF THE CHURCH. 

This learned father and apostolic man flourished in the 
second century. He was by birth a Sicilian, by profession a 
Stoic philosopher. His, esteem for virtue led him into an 
acquaintance with the Christians, and being charmed with 
the innocence and sanctity of their conversation, he opened 
his eyes to the truth. He studied the Holy Scriptures under 



344 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 7. 



the disciples of the apostles, and his thirst after sacred learn- 
ing brought him to Alexandria, in Egypt, where the disciples 
of St. Mark had instituted a celebrated school of the Chris- 
tian doctrine. Pantsenus sought not to display his talents in 
that great mart of literature and commerce; but his great 
progress in sacred learning was after some time discovered, 
and he was drawn out of that obscurity in which his humility 
sought to bury itself. Being placed at the head of the Chris- 




tian school some time before the year 179, by his learning 
and excellent manner of teaching he raised its reputation 
above all the schools of the philosophers, and the lessons 
which he read, and which were gathered from the flowers of 
the prophets and apostles, conveyed light and knowledge 
into the minds of all his hearers. The Indians who traded 
at Alexandria entreated him to pay their country a visit, 
whereupon he forsook his school and went to preach the 
Gospel to the Eastern nations. St. Pantaenus found some 
seeds of the faith already sown in the Indies, and a book of 
the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, which St. Bartholo- 
mew had carried thither. He brought it back with him to 



July 8.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



345 



Alexandria, whither he returned after he had zealously em- 
ployed some years in instructing the Indians in the faith. St. 
Pantaenus continued to teach in private till about the year 
216, when he closed a noble and excellent life by a happy 
death. 

Reflection. — " Have a care that none lead you astray 
by a false philosophy," says St. Paul, for philosophy without 
religion is a vain thing. 



JULY 8. — ST. ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL. 

Elizabeth was born in 1271. She was daughter of 
Pedro III. of Arragon, being named after her aunt, St. Eliz- 
abeth of Hungary. At twelve years of age, she was given in 




marriage to Denis, King of Portugal, and from a holy child 
became a saintly wife. She heard Mass and recited the 
Divine Office daily, but her devotions were arranged with 
such prudence that they interfered with no duty of her state. 
She prepared for her frequent communions by severe austeri- 



34<5 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 8. 



ties, fasting thrice a week, and by heroic works of charity. 
She was several times called on to make peace between her 
husband and her son Alphonso, who had taken up arms 
against him. Her husband tried her much, both by his 
unfounded jealousy and by his infidelity to herself. A 
slander affecting Elizabeth and one of her pages made the 
king determine to slay the youth, and he told a lime-burner 
to cast into his kiln the first page who should arrive with a 
royal message. On the day fixed the page was sent; but 
the boy, who was in the habit of hearing Mass daily, stopped 
on his way to do so. The king, in suspense, sent a second 
page, the very originator of the calumny, who, coming first 
to the kiln, was at once cast into the furnace and burned. 
Shortly after, the first page arrived from the church, and 
took back to the king the lime-burner's reply that his orders 
had been fulfilled. Thus hearing Mass saved the page's life 
and proved the queen's innocence. Her patience, and the 
wonderful sweetness with which she even cherished the chil- 
dren of her rivals, completely won the king from his evil 
ways, and he became a devoted husband and a truly Chris- 
tian king. She built many charitable institutions and relig- 
ious houses, among others a convent of Poor Clares. After 
her husband's death, she wished to enter their order; but 
being dissuaded by her people, who could not do without 
her, she took the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis, 
and spent the rest of her life in redoubled austerities and 
alms-giving. She died at the age of sixty-five, while in the 
act of making peace between her children. 

Reflection. — In the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar, St. 
Elizabeth daily found strength to bear with sweetness sus- 
picion and cruelty; and by that same Holy Sacrifice her 
innocence was proved. What succor do we forfeit by neg- 
lect of daily Mass! 



July 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



347 



JULY 9. — ST. EPHREM, DEACON. 

St. Ephrem is the light and glory of the Syriac Church. 
A mere youth, he entered on the religious life at Nisibis, his 
native place. Long years of retirement taught him the 
science of the Saints and then God called him to Edessa, 
there to teach what he had learned so well. He defended 




the faith against heresies, in books which have made him 
known as the Prophet of the Syrians. Crowds hung upon 
his words. Tears used to stop his voice when he preached. 
He trembled and made his hearers tremble at the thought 
of God's judgments; but he found in compunction and 
humility the way to peace, and he rested with unshaken con 
fidence in the mercy of our Blessed Lord. " I am setting 
out," he says, speaking of his own death, " I am setting out 
on a journey hard and dangerous. Thee, O Son of God, I 
have taken for my Viaticum. When I am hungry, I will 
feed on Thee. The infernal fire will not venture near me, 
for it cannot bear the fragrance of Thy Body and Thy 



348 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July io. 



Blood." His hymns won the hearts of the people, drove 
out the hymns of the Gnostic heretics, and gained for him 
the title which he bears in the Syriac Liturgy to this day — 
" the Harp of the Holy Ghost." Passionate as he was by 
nature, from the time he entered religion no one ever saw 
him angry. Abounding in labors till the last, he toiled for 
the suffering poor at Edessa in the famine of 378, and there 
lay down to die in extreme old age. What was the secret 
of success so various and so complete? Humility, which 
made him distrust himself and trust God. Till his death, 
he wept for the slight sins committed in the thoughtlessness 
of boyhood. He refused the dignity of the priesthood. " I," 
he told St. Basil, whom he went to see at the bidding of the 
Holy Spirit, " I am that Ephrem who have wandered from 
the path of heaven." Then bursting into tears, he cried 
out, " O my Father, have pity on a sinful wretch, and lead 
me on the narow way." 

Reflection. — Humility is the path which leads to abid- 
ing peace and brings us near to the consolations of God. 



JULY 10.— THE SEVEN BROTHERS, MARTYRS, AND 
ST. FELICITAS, THEIR MOTHER. 

The illustrious martyrdom of these Saints happened at 
Rome, under the emperor Antoninus. The seven brothers 
were the sons of St. Felicitas, a noble, pious, Christian widow 
in Rome, who, after the death of her husband, served God 
in a state of continency and employed herself wholly in 
prayer, fasting, and works of charity. By the public and 
edifying example of this lady and her whole family, many 
idolaters were moved to renounce the worship of their false 
gods, and to embrace the faith of Christ. This excited the 
anger of the heathen priests, who complained to the emperor 
that the boldness with which Felicitas publicly practised the 
Christian religion drew many from the worship of the im- 
mortal gods, who were the guardians and protectors of the 
empire, and that, in order to appease these false gods, it 



July io.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



349 



was necessary to compel this lady and her children to sacri- 
fice to them. Publius, the prefect of Rome, caused the 
mother and her sons to be apprehended and brought before 
him, and, addressing her, said, " Take pity on your children, 
Felicitas; they are in the bloom of youth, and may aspire to 
the greatest honors and preferments." The holy mother 
answered, "Your pity is really impiety, and the compas- 
sion to which you exhort me would make me the most cruel 




of mothers. ,, Then turning herself towards her children, 
she said to them, " My sons, look up to heaven, where Jesus 
Christ with His Saints expects you. Be faithful in His love, 
and fight courageously for your sours7' Publius, being ex- 
asperated at this behavior, commanded her to be cruelly 
buffeted; he then called the children to him one after an- 
other, and used many artful speeches, mingling promises 
with threats to induce them to adore the gods. His argu- 
ments and threats were equally in vain, and the brothers 
were condemned to be scourged. After being whipped, they 
were remanded to prison, and the prefect, despairing to over- 
come their resolution, laid the whole process before the 
emperor. Antoninus gave an order that they should be 



35o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July ii. 



sent to different judges, and be condemned to different 
deaths. Januarius was scourged to death with whips loaded 
with plummets of lead. The two next, Felix and Philip, 
were beaten with clubs till they expired. Sylvanus, the 
fourth, was thrown headlong down a steep precipice. The 
three youngest, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martialis, were be- 
headed, and the same sentence was executed upon the 
mother four months after. 

Reflection. — What afflictions do parents daily meet 
with from the disorders into which their children fall through 
their own bad example or neglect! Let them imitate the 
earnestness of St. Felicitas in forming to perfect virtue the 
tender souls which God hath committed to their charge, and 
with this Saint they will have the greatest of all comforts in 
them, and will by His grace count as many Saints in their 
family as they are blessed with children. 



JULY ii.— ST. JAMES, BISHOP. 

This eminent Saint and glorious Doctor of the Syriac 
Church was a native of Nisibis, in Mesopotamia. In his 
youth, entering the world, he trembled at the sight of its 
vices and the slippery path of its pleasures, and he thought it 
the safer part to strengthen himself in retirement, that he 
might afterward be the better able to stand his ground in the 
field. He accordingly chose the highest mountain for his 
abode, sheltering himself in a cave in the winter, and the rest 
of the year living in the woods, continually exposed to the 
open air. Notwithstanding his desire to live unknown to 
men, he was discovered, and many were not afraid to climb 
the rugged rocks that they might recommend themselves to 
his prayers and receive the comfort of his spiritual advice. 
He was favored with the gifts of prophecy and miracles in an 
uncommon measure. One day, as he was travelling, he was 
accosted by a gang of beggars, with the view of extorting 
money from him under pretence of burying their companion, 
who lay stretched on the ground as if he were dead. The 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



351 



holy man gave them what they asked, and " offering- up sup- 
plications to God as for a soul departed, he prayed that his 
Divine Majesty would pardon him the sins he had committed 
whilst he lived, and that He would admit him into the com- 
pany of the Saints." As soon as the Saint was gone by, the 
beggars, calling upon their companion to rise and take his 
share of the booty, were surprised to find him really dead. 
Seized with sudden fear and grief, they shrieked in the utmost 




consternation, and immediately ran after the man of God, 
cast themselves at his feet, confessed the cheat, begged for- 
giveness, and besought him by his prayers to restore their 
unhappy companion to life, which the Saint did. The most 
famous miracle of our Saint was that by which he protected 
his native city from the barbarians. Sapor II., the haughty 
king of Persia, besieged Nisibis with the whole strength of 
his empire, whilst our Saint was Bishop. The Bishop would 
not pray for the destruction of any one, but he implored the 
Divine Mercy that the city might be delivered from the 
calamities of so long a siege. Afterward, going to the top of 
a high tower, and turning his face towards the enemy, and 



352 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 12. 



seeing the prodigious multitude of men and beasts which 
covered the whole country, he said, " Lord, Thou art able by 
the weakest means to humble the pride of Thy enemies; 
defeat these multitudes by an army of gnats." God heard 
the humble prayer of His servant. Scarce had the Saint 
spoken those words, when whole clouds of gnats and flies 
came pouring down upon the Persians, got into the 
elephants' trunks and the horses' ears and nostrils, which 
made them chafe and foam, throw their riders, and put the 
whole army into confusion and disorder. A famine and 
pestilence, which followed, carried off a great part of the 
army; and Sapor, after lying above three months before the 
place, set fire to all his own engines of war, and was forced to 
abandon the siege and return home with the loss of twenty 
thousand men. Sapor received a third foil under the walls of 
Nisibis, in 359, upon which he turned his arms against 
Amidus, took that strong city, and put the garrison and the 
greatest part of the inhabitants to the sword. The citizens 
of Nisibis attributed their preservation to the intercession of 
their glorious patron, St. James, although he had already 
gone to his reward. He died in 350. 



JULY 12 ST. JOHN GUALBERT. 

St. John Gualbert was born at Florence, a.d. 999. Fol- 
lowing the profession of arms at that troubled period, he 
became involved in a blood-fued with a near relation. One 
Good Friday, as he was riding into Florence accompanied by 
armed men, he encountered his enemy in a place where 
neither could avoid the other. John would have slain him ; 
but his adversary, who was totally unprepared to fight, fell 
upon his knees with his arms stretched out in the form of a 
cross, and implored him, for the sake of Our Lord's Holy 
Passion, to spare his life. St. John said to his enemy, " I 
cannot refuse what you ask in Christ's name. I grant you 
your life, and I give you my friendship. Pray that God may 
forgive me my sin." Grace triumphed. A humble and 
changed man, he entered the Church of St. Miniato, which 



July 12.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



353 



was near; and whilst he prayed, the figure of our crucified 
Lord, before which he was kneeling, bowed its head towards 
him as if to ratify his pardon. Abandoning the world, he 
gave himself up to prayer and penance in the Benedictine 
Order. Later he was led to found the congregation called 
of Vallombrosa, from the shady valley a few miles from 
Florence, where he established his first monastery. Once 
the enemies of the Saint came to his convent of St. Salvi, 




plundered it, and set fire to it, and having treated the monks 
with ignominy, beat them and wounded them. St. John 
rejoiced. " Now," he said, " you are true monks. Would 
that I myself had had the honor of being with you when the 
soldiers came, that I might have had a share in the glory of 
your crowns! " He fought manfully against simony, and in 
many ways promoted the interest of the faith in Italy. After 
a life of great austerity, he died whilst the angels were sing- 
ing round his bed, July 12th, 1073. 

Reflection. — The heroic act which merited for St. John 
Gualbert his conversion was the forgiveness of his enemy. 



354 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 13. 



Let us imitate him in this virtue, resolving never to revenge 
ourselves in deed, in word, or in thought. 

JULY 13.— ST. EUGENIUS, BISHOP. 

The episcopal see of Carthage had remained vacant 
twenty-four years, when, in 481, Huneric permitted the 
Catholics on certain conditions to choose one who should fill 
it. The people, impatient to enjoy the comfort of a pastor, 




pitched upon Eugenius, a citizen of Carthage, eminent for 
his learning, zeal, piety, and prudence. His charities to the 
distressed were excessive, and he refused himself every thing 
that he might give all to the poor. His virtue gained him 
the respect and esteem even of the Arians ; but at length envy 
and blind zeal got the ascendant in their breasts, and the king 
sent him an order never to sit on the episcopal throne, 
preach to the people, or admit into his chapel any Vandals, 
among whom several were Catholics. The Saint boldly 
answered that the laws of God commanded him not to shut 
the door of His church to any that desired to serve Him in it. 



July 14.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 355 

Huneric, enraged at this answer, persecuted the Catholics in 
various ways. Many nuns were so cruelly tortured that they 
died on the rack. Great numbers of bishops, priests, 
deacons, and eminent Catholic laymen were banished to a 
desert, filled with scorpions and venomous serpents. The 
people followed their bishops and priests with lighted tapers 
in their hands, and mothers carried their little babes in their 
arms and laid them at the feet of the confessors, all crying 
out with tears, " Going yourselves to your crowns, to whom 
do you leave us? Who will baptize our children? Who will 
impart to us the benefit of penance, and discharge us from 
the bonds of sin by the favor of reconciliation and pardon? 
Who will bury us with solemn supplications at our death? 
By whom will the Divine Sacrifice be made? " The Bishop 
Eugenius was spared in the first storm, but afterwards was 
carried into the uninhabited desert country in the province 
of Tripolis, and committed to the guard of Antony, an 
inhuman Arian bishop, who treated him with the utmost bar- 
barity. Gontamund, who succeeded Huneric, recalled our 
Saint to Carthage, opened the Catholic churches, and allowed 
all the exiled priests to return. After reigning twelve years, 
Gontamund died, and his brother Thrasimund was called to 
the crown. Under this prince, St. Eugenius was again 
banished, and died in exile, on the 13th of July, 505, in a 
monastery which he built and governed, near Albi. 

Reflection. — " Alms shall be a great confidence before 
the Most High God to them that give it. Water quencheth 
a flaming fire, and alms resisteth sin." 



JULY 14.— ST. BONA VENTURE. 

Sanctity and learning raised Bonaventure to the 
Church's highest honors, and from a child he was the 
companion of Saints. Yet at heart he was ever the poor 
Franciscan friar, and practised and taught humility and mor- 
tification. St. Francis gave him his name; for, having 
miraculously cured him of a mortal sickness, he prophetically 



35^ 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 14. 



exclaimed of the child, " O bona ventura! " — good luck. 
He is known also as the " Seraphic Doctor," from the fervor 
of divine love which breathes in his writings. He was the 
friend of St. Thomas Aquinas, who asked him one day 
whence he drew his great learning. He replied by pointing 
to his crucifix. At another time, St. Thomas found him in 
ecstasy while writing the life of St. Francis, and exclaimed, 
" Let us leave a Saint to write of a Saint." They received 




the Doctor's cap together. He was the guest and adviser of 
St. Louis, and the director of St. Isabella, the king's sister. 
At the age of thirty-five, he was made general of his Order;, 
and only escaped another dignity, the Archbishopric of York, 
by dint of tears and entreaties. Gregory X. appointed him 
Cardinal Bishop of Albano. When the Saint heard of the 
Pope's resolve to create him a Cardinal, he quietly made his 
escape from Italy. But Gregory sent him a summons to 
return to Rome. On his way he stopped to rest himself at 
a convent of his Order near Florence ; and there two Papal 
messengers, sent to meet him with the Cardinal's hat, found 
him washing the dishes. The Saint desired them to hang 
the hat on a bush that was near, and take a walk in the 



July 15 ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



357 



garden until he had finished what he was about. Then 
taking up the hat with unfeigned sorrow, he joined the mes- 
sengers and paid them the respect due to their character. 
He sat at the Pontiff's right hand, and spoke first at the 
Council of Lyons. His piety and eloquence won over the 
Greeks to Catholic union, and then his strength failed. He 
died while the Council was sitting, and was buried by the 
assembled bishops, a.d. 1274. 

Reflection. — " The fear of God," says St. Bonaven- 
ture, " forbids a man to give his heart to transitory things, 
which are the true seeds of sin." 

JULY 15.— ST. HENRY, EMPEROR. 

Henry, Duke of Bavaria, saw in a vision his guardian, St. 
Wolfgang, pointing to the words " after six." This moved 
him to prepare for death, and for six years he continued to 
watch and pray ; when, at the end of the sixth year, he found 
the warning verified in his election as emperor. Thus trained 
in the fear of God, he ascended the throne with but one 
thought — to reign for His greater glory. The pagan Slaves 
were then despoiling the empire. Henry attacked them with 
a small force ; but angels and Saints were seen leading his 
troops, and the heathen fled in despair. Poland and 
Bohemia, Moravia and Burgundy, were in turn annexed to 
his kingdom, Pannonia and Hungary won to the Church. 
With the faith secured in Germany, Henry passed into Italy, 
drove out the Antipope Gregory, brought Benedict VIII. 
back to Rome and was crowned in St. Peter's by that Pontiff, 
in 1014. It was Henry's custom, on arriving in any town, 
to spend his first night in watching in some church dedicated 
to our Blessed Lady. As he was thus praying in St. Mary 
Major's, the first night of his arrival in Rome, he " saw the 
Sovereign and Eternal Priest Christ Jesus " enter to say 
Mass. SS. Laurence and Vincent assisted as deacon and 
sub-deacon. Saints innumerable filled the church, and 
angels sang in the choir. After the Gospel, an angel was 
sent by Our Lady to give Henry the book to kiss. Touching 



358 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 15. 



him lightly on the thigh, as the angel did to Jacob, he said, 
" Accept this sign of God's love for your chastity and jus- 
tice;" and from that time the emperor always was lame. 
Like holy David, Henry employed the fruits of his conquests 
in the service of the temple. The forests and mines of the 
empire, the best that his treasury could produce, were con- 
secrated to the sanctuary. Stately cathedrals, noble mon- 
asteries, churches innumerable, enlightened and sanctified 




the once heathen lands. In 1022, Henry lay on his bed of 
death. He gave back to her parents his wife, St. Cunegunda, 
" a virgin still, as a virgin he had received her from Christ," 
and surrendered his own pure soul to God. 

Reflection. — St. Henry deprived himself of many 
things to enrich the house of God. We clothe ourselves in 
purple and fine linen, and leave Jesus in poverty and neglect. 



July io.j 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



359 



JULY 16.— ST. SIMON STOCK. 

Simon was born in the county of Kent, England, and 
left his home when he was but twelve years of age, to live 
as a hermit in the hollow trunk of a tree, whence he was 
known as Simon of the Stock. Here he passed twenty 




years in penance and prayer, and learned from Our Lady 
that he was to join an Order not then known in England. 
He waited in patience till the White Friars came, and then 
entered the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. His. 
great holiness moved his brethren in the general chapter 
held at Aylesford, near Rochester, in 1245, to choose him 
prior-general of the Order. In the many persecutions 
raised against the new religious, Simon went with filial con- 
fidence to the Blessed Mother of God. As he knelt in prayer 
in the White Friars' convent at Cambridge, on July 16th, 
125 1, she appeared before him and presented him with the 
scapular, in assurance of her protection. The devotion to 



360 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 17. 



the blessed habit spread quickly throughout the Christian 
world. Pope after Pope enriched it with indulgences, and 
miracles innumerable put their seal upon its efficacy. The 
first of them was worked at Winchester on a man dying in 
despair, who at once asked for the Sacraments, when the 
scapular was laid upon him by St. Simon Stock. In the 
year 1636, M. de Guge, a cornet in a cavalry regiment, was 
mortally wounded at the engagement of Tehin, a bullet 
having lodged near his heart. He was then in a state of 
grievous sin, but had time left him to make his confession, 
and with his own hands wrote his last testament. When 
this was done, the surgeon probed his wound, and the bullet 
was found to have driven his scapular into his heart. On 
its being withdrawn, he presently expired, making profound 
acts of gratitude to the Blessed Virgin, who had prolonged 
his life miraculously, and thus preserved him from eternal 
death. St. Simon Stock died at Bordeaux, a.d. 1265. 

Reflection. — To enjoy the privileges of the scapular, 
it is sufficient that it be received lawfully and worn devoutly. 
How, then, can any one fail to profit by a devotion so easy, 
so simple, and so wonderfully blessed? "He that shall 
overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I 
will not blot out his name out of the book of life, and I will 
confess his name before My Father and before His angels." 
(Apoc. 3 : 5.) 



JULY 17.— ST. ALEXIUS. 

St. Alexius was the only son of parents pre-eminent 
among the Roman nobles for virtue, birth, and wealth. On 
his wedding-night, by God's special inspiration, he secretly 
quitted Rome, and journeying to Edessa, in the far East, 
gave away all that he had brought with him, content thence- 
forth to live on alms at the gate of Our Lady's Church in 
that city. It came to pass that the servants of St. Alexius, 
whom his father sent in search of him, arrived at Edessa, 
and seeing him among the poor at the gate of Our Lady's 



July 17.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



361 



Church, gave him an alms, not recognizing him. Where- 
upon the man of God, rejoicing, said, " I thank Thee, O 
Lord, who hast called me and granted that I should receive 
for Thy name's sake an alms from my own slaves. Deign 
to fulfil in me the work Thou hast begun." After seven- 
teen years, when his sanctity was miraculously manifested by 
the Blessed Virgin's image, he once more sought obscurity 
by flight. On his way to Tarsus, contrary winds drove his 




ship to Rome. There no one recognized in the wan and 
tattered mendicant the heir of Rome's noblest house; not 
even his sorrowing parents, who had vainly sent throughout 
the world in search of him. From his father's charity he 
begged a mean corner of his palace as a shelter, and the 
leavings of his table as food. Thus he spent seventeen 
years, bearing patiently the mockery and ill-usage of his 
own slaves, and witnessing daily the inconsolable grief of 
his spouse and parents. At last, when death had ended this 
cruel martyrdom, they learned too late, from a writing in 
his own hand, who it was that they had unknowingly shel- 
tered. God bore testimony to His servant's sanctity by 
many miracles. He died early in the fifth century. 



362 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 18. 



Reflection. — We must always be ready to sacrifice our 
dearest and best natural affections in obedience to the call 
of our Heavenly Father. " Call none your father upon 
earth, for one is your Father in Heaven " (Matt. 23 : 9). 
Our Lord has taught us this not by words only, but by His 
own example and by that of His Saints. 



JULY 18.— ST. CAMILLUS OF LELLIS. 

The early years of Camillus gave no sign of sanctity. At 
the age of nineteen, he took service with his father, an Ital- 
ian noble, against the Turks, and after four years' hard cam- 
paigning found himself, through his violent temper, reckless 




habits, and inveterate passion for gambling, a discharged 
soldier, and in such straitened circumstances that he was 
obliged to work as a laborer on a Capuchin convent which 
was then building. A few words from a Capuchin friar 
brought about his conversion, and he resolved to become 
a religious. Thrice he entered the Capuchin novitiate, but 



July 18.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



363 



each time an obstinate wound in his leg forced him to leave. 
He repaired to Rome for medical treatment, and there took 
St. Philip as his confessor, and entered the hospital of St. 
Giacomo, of which he became in time the superintendent. 
The carelessness of the paid chaplains and nurses towards 
the suffering patients now inspired him with the thought of 
founding a congregation to minister to their wants. With 
this end he was ordained priest and in 1586 his community 
of the Servants of the Sick was confirmed by the Pope. Its 
usefulness was soon felt, not only in hospitals, but in private 
houses. Summoned at every hour of the day and night, 
the devotion of Camillus never grew cold. With a woman's 
tenderness, he attended to the needs of his patients. He 
wept with them, consoled them, and prayed with them. He 
knew miraculously the state of their souls; and St. Philip 
saw angels whispering to two Servants of the Sick who were 
consoling a dying person. One day, a sick man said to the 
Saint, " Father, may I beg you to make up my bed? it is very 
hard." Camillus replied, " God forgive you, brother! You 
beg me! Don't you know yet that you are to command me, 
for I am your servant and slave?" " Would to God," he 
would cry, " that in the hour of my death one sigh or one 
blessing of these poor creatures might fall upon me! " His 
prayer was heard. He was granted the same consolations 
in his last hour which he had so often procured for others. 
In the year 1614 he died with the full use of his faculties, 
after two weeks' saintly preparation, as the priest was recit- 
ing the words of the ritual, " May Jesus Christ appear to thee 
with a mild and joyful countenance! " 

Reflection. — St. Camillus venerated the sick as living 
images of Christ, and by ministering to them in this spirit did 
penance for the sins of his youth, led a life precious in merit, 
and from a violent and quarrelsome soldier became a gentle 
and tender Saint. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 19. 



JULY 19. — ST. VINCENT OF PAUL. 

St. Vincent was born a.d. 1576. In after-years, when 
adviser of the Queen and oracle of the Church in France, he 
loved to recount how, in his youth, he had guarded his 
father's pigs. Soon after his ordination, he was "captured by 
Corsairs, and carried into Barbary. He converted his rene- 
gade master, and escaped with him to France. Appointed 




chaplain-general of the galleys of France, his tender chanty 
brought hope into those prisons where hitherto despair had 
reigned. A mother mourned her imprisoned son. Vincent 
put on his chains and took his place at the oar, and gave him 
to his mother. His charity embraced the poor, young and 
old, provinces desolated by civil war, Christians enslaved by 
the infidel. The poor man, ignorant and degraded, was to 
him the image of Him who became as " a leper and no man." 
" Turn the medal," he said, " and you then will see Jesus 
Christ." He went through the streets of Paris at night, 
seeking the children who were left there to die. Once rob- 
bers rushed upon him, thinking he carried a treasure, but 
when he opened his cloak, they recognized him and his bur- 



July 19.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



365 



den, and fell at his feet. Not only was St. Vincent the 
saviour of the poor, but also of the rich, for he taught them 
to do works of mercy. When the work for the foundlings 
was in danger of failing from want of funds, he assembled the 
ladies of the Association of Charity. He bade his most fer- 
vent daughters be present to give the spur to the others. 
Then he said, " Compassion and charity have made you 
adopt these little creatures as your children. You have been 
their mothers according to grace, when their own mothers 
abandoned them. Cease to be their mothers, that you may 
become their judges ; their life and death are in your hands. 
I shall now take your votes : it is time to pronounce sen- 
tence." The tears of the assembly were his only answer, 
and the work was continued. The Society of St. Vincent, 
the Priests of the Mission, and 25,000 Sisters of Charity still 
comfort the afflicted with the charity of St. Vincent of Paul. 
He died a.d. 1660. 

Reflection. — Most people who profess piety ask advice 
of directors about their prayers and spiritual exercises. Few 
inquire whether they are not in danger of damnation from 
neglect of works of chanty. 



366 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 20. 



JULY 20.— ST. MARGARET VIRGIN AND MARTYR. 

According to the ancient Martyrologies, St. Margaret 
suffered at Antioch in Pisidia, in the last general persecution. 
She is said to have been instructed in the faith by a Christian 
nurse, to have been prosecuted by her own father, a pagan 
priest, and, after many torments, to have gloriously finished 
her martyrdom by the sword. From the East, her venera- 
tion was exceedingly propagated in England, France, and 
Germany, in the eleventh century, during the holy wars. 
Her body is now kept at Monte-Fiascone, in Tuscany. 



ST. JEROME EMILIANI. 

St. Jerome Emiliani was a member of one of the patri- 
cian families of Venice, and, like many other Saints, in early 
life a soldier. He was appointed governor of a fortress 
among the mountains of Treviso, and whilst bravely defend- 
ing his post, was made prisoner by the enemy. In the misery 
of his dungeon, he invoked the great Mother of God, and 
promised, if she would set him free, to lead a new and better 
life. Our Lady appeared, broke his fetters, and led forth 
through the midst of his enemies. At Treviso he hung up 
his chains at her altar, dedicated himself to her service, and 
on reaching his home at Venice, devoted himself to a life of 
active charity. His special love was for the deserted orphan 
children whom, in the times of the plague and famine, he 
found wandering in the streets. He took them home, 
clothed and fed them, and taught them the Christian truths. 
From Venice he passed to Padua and Verona, and in a few 
years had founded orphanages through Northern Italy. 
Some pious clerics and laymen, who had been his fellow- 
workers, fixed their abode in one of these establishments, 
and devoted themselves to the cause of education. The 
Saint drew up for them a rule of life, and thus was founded 
the Congregation, which still exists, of the Clerks Regular 



July 21.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



367 



of Somascha. St. Jerome died February 8th, 1537, of an 
illness which he had caught in visiting the sick. 

Reflection. — Let us learn from St. Jerome to exert our- 
selves in behalf of the many hundred children whose souls are 
perishing around us for want of some one to show them the 
way to heaven. 

JULY 21.— ST. VICTOR, MARTYR. 



The Emperor Maximian, reeking with the blood of the 
Thebsean legion and many other martyrs, arrived at Mar- 
seilles, where the Church then nourished. The tyrant 




breathed here nothing but slaughter and fury, and his com- 
ing filled the Christians with fear and alarm. In this general 
consternation, Victor, a Christian officer in the troops, went 
about in the night-time from house to house, visiting the 
faithful and inspiring them with contempt of a temporal 
death and the love of eternal life. He was surprised in this, 
and brought before the prefects Asterius and Eutychius, 



368 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 21. 



who exhorted him not to lose the fruit of all his services 
and the favor of his prince for the worship of a dead man, 
as they called Jesus Christ. He answered that he renounced 
those recompenses if he could not enjoy them without being 
unfaithful to Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who 
vouchsafed to become man for our salvation, but who raised 
Himself from the dead, and reigns with the Father, being 
God equally with him. The whole court heard him with 
shouts of rage. Victor was bound hand and foot and 
dragged through the streets of the city, exposed to the blows 
and insults of the populace. He was brought back bruised 
and bloody to the tribunal of the prefects, who, thinking his 
resolution must have been weakened by his sufferings, 
pressed him again to adore their gods. But the martyr, 
filled with the Holy Ghost, expressed his respect for the 
emperor and his contempt for their gods. He was then 
hoisted on the rack and tortured a long time, until, the tor- 
mentors being at last weary, the prefect ordered him to be 
taken down and thrown into a dark dungeon. At midnight, 
God visited him by his angels; the prison was filled with a 
light brighter than that of the sun, and the martyr sung with 
the angels the praises of God. Three soldiers who guarded 
the prison, seeing this light, cast themselves at the martyr's 
feet, asked his pardon, and desired baptism. Victor in- 
structed them as well as time would permit, sent for priests 
the same night, and, going with them to the seaside, had 
them baptized, and returned with them again to his prison. 
The next morning, Maximian was informed of the conver- 
sion of the guards, and, in a transport of rage, sent officers 
to bring them all four before him. The three soldiers per- 
severed in the confession of Jesus Christ, and, by the emper- 
or's orders, were forthwith beheaded. Victor, after having 
been exposed to the insults of the whole city and been 
beaten with clubs and scourged with leather thongs, was 
carried back to prison, where he continued three days, 
recommending to God his martyrdom with many ears. 
After that term, the emperor called him again before his 
tribunal, and commanded the martyr to offer incense to a 
statue of Jupiter. Victor went up to the profane altar, and 



July 22.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



369 



by a kick of his foot threw it down. The emperor ordered 
the foot to be forthwith chopped off, which the Saint suffered 
with great joy, offering to God these first-fruits of his body. 
A few moments after, the emperor condemned him to be 
put under the grindstone of a hand-mill and crushed to 
death. The executioners turned the wheel, and when part 
of his body was bruised and crushed, the mill broke down. 
The Saint still breathed a little, but his head was immediately 
ordered to be cut off. His and the other three bodies were 
thrown into the sea, but, being cast ashore, were buried by 
the Christians in a grotto hewn out of a rock. 



JULY 22.— ST. MARY MAGDALEN. 

Of the earlier life of Mary Magdalen, we know only that 
she was " a woman who was a sinner." From the depth of 
her degradation, she raised her eyes to Jesus with sorrow, 
hope, and love. All covered with shame, she came in where 
Jesus was at meat, and knelt behind Him. She said not a 
word, but bathed His feet with her tears, wiped them with 
the hair of her head, kissed them in humility, and at their 
touch her sins and her stain were gone. Then she poured on 
them the costly unguent prepared for far other uses; and 
His own divine lips rolled away her reproach, spoke her 
absolution, and bade her go in peace. Thenceforward she 
ministered to Jesus, sat at His feet, and heard His words. 
She was one of the family " whom Jesus so loved " that He 
raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. Once again, on 
the eve of His Passion, she brought the precious ointment, 
and, now purified and beloved, poured it on His head, and 
the whole house of God is still filled with the fragrance of 
her anointing. She stood with Our Lady and St. John at the 
foot of the Cross, the representative of the many who have 
had much forgiven. To her first, after His Blessed Mother, 
and through her to His Apostles, Our Lord gave the cer- 
tainty of His Resurrection; and to her first He made Himself 
known, calling her by her name, because she was His. When 



37o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 22. 



the faithful were scattered by persecution, the family of Beth- 
any found refuge in Provence. The cave in which St. Mary 
lived for thirty years is still seen, and the chapel on the 
mountain-top, in which she was caught up daily, like St. 
Paul, to " visions and revelations of the Lord." When her 
end drew near, she was borne to a spot still marked by a 




" sacred pillar," where the holy Bishop Maximin awaited 
her; and when she had received her Lord, she peacefully fell 
asleep in death. 

Reflection. — " Compunction of heart," says St. Ber- 
nard, " is a treasure infinitely to be desired, and an unspeak- 
able gladness to the heart. It is healing to the soul; it is 
remission of sins; it brings back again the Holy Spirit into 
the humble and loving heart." 



July 23.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



371 



JULY 23.— ST. APOLLINARIS, BISHOP AND MARTYR. 

St. Apollinaris was the first Bishop of Ravenna; he 
sat twenty years, and was crowned with martyrdom in the 
reign of Vespasian. He was a disciple of St. Peter, and 
made by him Bishop of Ravenna. St. Peter Chrysologus, 
the most illustrious among his successors, has left us a ser- 




mon in honor of our Saint, in which he often styles him a 
martyr; but adds, that though he frequently suffered for the 
faith, and ardently desired to lay down his life for Christ, 
yet God preserved him a long time to His Church, and did 
not allow the persecutors to take away his life. So he seems 
to have been a martyr only by the torments he endured for 
Christ, which he survived at least some days. His body lay 
first at Classis, four miles from Ravenna, still a kind of 
suburb to that city, and its seaport till it was choked up by 
the sands. In the year 549, his relics were removed into a 
more secret vault in the same church. St. Fortunatus ex- 
horted his friends to make pilgrimages to the tomb, and 



372 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 24. 



St. Gregory the Great ordered parties in doubtful suits at 
law to be sworn before it. Pope Honorius built a church 
under the name of Apollinaris in Rome, about the year 630. 
It occurs in all martyrologies, and the high veneration which 
the Church paid early to his memory is a sufficient testimony 
of his eminent sanctity and apostolic spirit. 

Reflection. — The virtue of the Saints was true and 
heroic, because humble and proof against all trials. Perse- 
vere in your good resolutions; it is not enough to begin well, 
you must so continue to the end. 



JULY 24 ST. CHRISTINA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR. 



St. Christina was the daughter of a rich and powerful 
magistrate named Urbain. Her father, who was deep in the 
practices of heathenism, had a number of golden idols, which 




our Saint destroyed and distributed the pieces among the 
poor. Infuriated by this act, Urbain became the persecutor 
of his daughter; he had her whipped with rods and then 



July 25.] 



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373 



thrown into a dungeon. Christina remained unshaken in 
her faith. Her tormentor then had her body torn by iron 
hooks, and fastened her to a rack beneath which a fire was 
kindled. But God watched over His servant and turned the 
flames upon the lookers-on. Christina was next seized, a 
heavy stone tied about her neck, and she was thrown into 
the lake of Bolsena, but she was saved by an angel, and out- 
lived her father, who died of spite. Later, this martyr suf- 
fered the most inhuman torments under the judge who suc- 
ceeded her father, and finally was thrown into a burning fur- 
nace, where she remained, unhurt, for five days. By the 
power of Christ, she overcame the serpents among which she 
was thrown; then her tongue was cut out, and afterwards, 
being pierced with arrows, she gained the martyr's crown at 
Tyro, a city which formerly stood on an island in the lake of 
Bolsena, in Italy, but was long since swallowed up by the 
waters. Her relics are now at Palermo, in Sicily. 



JULY 25.— ST. JAMES, APOSTLE. 

Among the twelve, three were chosen as the familiar 
companions of our Blessed Lord, and of these James was 
one. He alone, with Peter and John, was admitted to the 
house of Jairus when the dead maiden was raised to life. 
They alone were taken up to the high mountain apart, and 
saw the face of Jesus shining as the sun, and His garments 
white as snow; and these three alone witnessed the fearful 
agony in Gethsemane. What was it that won James a place 
among the favorite three? Faith, burning, impetuous, and 
outspoken, but which needed purifying before the " Son of 
Thunder " could proclaim the gospel of peace. It was James 
who demanded fire from heaven to consume the inhospitable 
Samaritans, and who sought the place of honor by Christ in 
His kingdom. Yet our Lord, in rebuking his presumption, 
prophesied his faithfulness to death. WTien St. James was 
brought before King Herod Agrippa, his fearless confession 
of Jesus crucified so moved the public prosecutor that he 
declared himself a Christian on the spot. Accused and 



3/4 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 25. 



accuser were hurried off together to execution, and on the 
road the latter begged pardon of the Saint. The Apostle 
had long since forgiven him, but hesitated for a moment 
whether publicly to accept as a brother one still unbaptized. 
God quickly recalled to him the Church's faith, that the blood 
of martyrdom supplies for every sacrament, and, falling on 
his companion's neck, he embraced him, with the words, 




" Peace be with thee! " Together then they knelt for the 
sword, and together received the crown. 

Reflection. — We must all desire a place in the kingdom 
of our Father; but can we drink the chalice which He holds 
out to each? Possumus, we must say with St. James — " We 
can " — but only in the strength of Him who has drunk it first 
for us. 



July 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



375 



JULY 26. — ST. ANNE. 

St. Anne was the spouse of St. Joachim, and was chosen 
by God to be the mother of Mary, His own Blessed Mother 
on earth. They were both of the royal house of David, and 
their lives were wholly occupied in prayer and good works. 




One thing only was wanting to their union — they were child- 
less, and this was held as a bitter misfortune among the Jews. 
At length, when Anne was an aged woman, Mary was born, 
the fruit rather of grace than of nature, and the child more of 
God than of man. With the birth of Mary the aged Anne 
began a new life: she watched her every movement with 
reverent tenderness, and felt herself hourly sanctified by the 
presence of her immaculate child. But she had vowed her 
daughter to God, to God Mary had consecrated herself again, 
and to Him Anne gave her back. Mary was three years old 
when Anne and Joachim led her up the Temple steps, saw 
her pass by herself into the inner sanctuary, and then saw her 



376 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 27. 



no more. Thus was Anne left childless in her lone old age, 
and deprived of her purest earthly joy just when she needed 
it most. She humbly adored the Divine Will, and began 
again to watch and pray, till God called her to unending rest 
with the Father and the Spouse of Mary in the home of 
Mary's Child. 

Reflection. — St. Anne is glorious among the Saints, 
not only as the mother of Mary, but because she gave Mary 
to God. Learn from her to reverence a divine vocation as 
the highest privilege, and to sacrifice every natural tie, how- 
ever holy, at the call of God. 



JULY 27.— ST. PANTALEON, MARTYR. 



St. Pantaleon was physician to the Emperor Galerius 
Maximianus, and a Christian, but, deceived by often hearing 




the false maxims of the world applauded, was unhappily 
seduced into an apostasy. But a zealous Christian called 
Hermolaus awakened his conscience to a sense of his guilt, 



4 



July 28.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 377 

and brought him again into the fold of the Church. The 
penitent ardently wished to expiate his crime by martyrdom ; 
and to prepare himself for the conflict, when Diocletian's 
bloody persecution broke out at Nicomedia, in 303, he dis- 
tributed all his possessions among the poor. Not long after 
this action, he was taken up, and in his house were also 
apprehended Hermolaus, Hermippus, and Hermocrates. 
After suffering many torments, they were all condemned to 
lose their heads. St. Pantaleon suffered the day after the 
rest. His relics were translated to Constantinople, and there 
kept with great honor. The greatest part of them are now 
shown in the abbey of St. Denys near Paris, but his head is 
at Lyons. 

Reflection. — " With the elect thou shalt be elect, and 
with the perverse wilt be perverted." 



JULY 28.— SS. NAZARIUS AND CELSUS, MARTYRS. 

St. Nazarius's father was a heathen, and held a consider- 
able post in the Roman army. His mother, Perpetua, was a 
zealous Christian, and was instructed by St. Peter, or his 
disciples, in the most perfect maxims of our holy faith. 
Nazarius embraced it with so much ardor that he copied in 
his life all the great virtues he saw in his teachers ; and out of 
zeal for the salvation of others, he left Rome, his native city, 
und preached the faith in many places with a fervor and dis- 
interestedness becoming a disciple of the Apostles. Arriv- 
ing at Milan, he was there beheaded for the faith, together 
with Celsus, a youth whom he carried with him to assist him 
in his travels. These martyrs suffered soon after Nero had 
raised the first persecution. Their bodies were buried 
separately in a garden without the city, where they were dis- 
covered and taken up by St. Ambrose, in 395. In the tomb 
of St. Nazarius, a vial of the Saint's blood was found as fresh 
and red as if it had been spilt that day. The faithful stained 
handkerchiefs with some drops, and also formed a certain 
paste with it, a portion of which St. Ambrose sent to St. 



378 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 29. 



Gaudentius, Bishop of Brescia. St. Ambrose conveyed the 
bodies of the two martyrs into the new church of the apostles, 
which he had just built. A woman was delivered of an evil 
spirit in their presence. St. Ambrose sent some of these 




relics to St. Paulinus of Nola, who received them, with great 
respect, as a most valuable present, as he testifies. 

Reflection. — The martyrs died as the outcasts of the 
world, but are crowned by God with immortal honor. The 
glory of the world is false and transitory, and an empty 
bubble or shadow, but that of virtue is true, solid, and per- 
manent, even in the eyes of men. 



JULY 29. — ST. MARTHA, VIRGIN. 

St. John tells us that " Jesus loved Martha and Mary and 
Lazarus," and yet but few glimpses are vouchsafed us of 
them. First, the sisters are set before us with a word. 
Martha received Jesus into her house, and was busy in out- 
ward, loving, lavish service, while Mary sat in silence at the 



July 29.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



379 



feet she had bathed with her tears. Then, their brother is 
ill, and they send to Jesus, " Lord, he whom Thou lovest is 
sick." And in His own time the Lord came, and they go out 
to meet Him ; and then follows that scene of unutterable ten- 
derness and of sublimity unsurpassed: the silent waiting of 
Mary; Martha strong in faith, but realizing so vividly, with 
her practical turn of mind, the fact of death, and hesitating : 




" Canst Thou show Thy wonders in the grave? " And then 
once again, on the eve of His Passion, we see Jesus at 
Bethany. Martha, true to her character, is serving; Mary, 
as at first, pours the precious ointment, in adoration and love, 
on His divine head. And then we find the tomb of St. 
Martha, at Tarascon, in Provence. When the storm of 
persecution came, the family of Bethany, with a few com- 
panions, were put into a boat, without oars or sail, and borne 
to the coast of France. St. Mary's tomb is at St. Baume; 
St. Lazarus is venerated as the founder of the Church of Mar- 
seilles ; and the memory of the virtues and labors of St. 
Martha is still fragrant at Avignon and Tarascon. 



380 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. July 30. 

Reflection. — When Martha received Jesus into her 
house, she was naturally busy in preparations for such a 
Guest. Mary sat at His feet, intent alone on listening to His 
gracious words. Her sister thought that the time required 
other service than this, and asked Our Lord to bid Mary help 
in serving. Once again Jesus spoke in defence of Mary. 
" Martha, Martha," He said, " thou art lovingly anxious 
about many things; be not over-eager; do thy chosen work 
with recollectedness. Judge not Mary. Hers is the good 
part, the one only thing really necessary. Thine will be 
taken away, that something better be given thee." The life 
of action ceases when the body is laid down ; but the life of 
contemplation endures and is perfected in heaven. 



JULY 30.— ST. GERMANUS, BISHOP. 

In his youth, Germanus gave little sign of sanctity. He 
was of noble birth, and at first practised the law at Rome. 
After a time, the emperor placed him high in the army. But 
his one passion was the chase. He was so carried away as 
even to retain in his sports the superstitions of the pagan 
huntsman. Yet it was revealed to the Bishop of Auxerre 
that Germanus would be his successor, and he gave him the 
tonsure almost by main force. Forthwith Germanus became 
another man, and, making over his lands to the Church, 
adopted a life of humble penance. At that time the Pelagian 
heresy was laying waste England, and Germanus was chosen 
by the reigning Pontiff to rescue the Britons from the snare 
of Satan. With St. Lupus he preached in the fields and high- 
ways throughout the land. At last, near Verulam, he met 
the heretics face to face, and overcame them utterly with the 
Catholic and Roman faith. He ascribed this triumph to the 
intercession of St. Alban, and offered public thanks at his 
shrine. Towards the end of his stay, his old skill in arms 
won over the Picts and Scots the complete but bloodless 
" Alleluia " victory, so called because the newly-baptized 
Britons, led by the Saint, routed the enemy with the Paschal 



July 31 ] LIVES OF THE SAINTS 38 1 

cry. Germanus visited England a second time with St. 
Severus. He died a.d. 448, while interceding with the 
emperor for the people of Brittany. 




Reflection. — " Hold the form of sound words, which 
thou hast heard of me in faith, and in the love which is in 
Christ Jesus." (2 Tim. 1 : 13.) 



JULY 31. — ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA. 

St. Ignatius was born at Loyola in Spain, in the year 
1491. He served his king as a courtier and a soldier till 
his thirtieth year. At that age, being laid low by a wound, 
he received the call of divine grace to leave the world. He 
embraced poverty and humiliation, that he might become 
more like to Christ, and won others to join him in the ser- 
vice of God. Prompted by their love for Jesus Christ, 
Ignatius and his companions made a vow to go to the Holy 
Land, but war broke out, and prevented the execution of 
their project. Then they turned to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, 



382 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[July 31. 



and placed themselves under his obedience. This was the 
beginning of the Society of Jesus. Our Lord promised St. 
Ignatius that the precious heritage of His Passion should 
never fail his Society, a heritage of contradictions and per- 
secutions. St. Ignatius was cast into prison at Salamanca, 
on a suspicion of heresy. To a friend who expressed sym- 
pathy with him on account of his imprisonment, he replied, 
" It is a sign that you have but little love of Christ in your 




heart, or you would not deem it so hard a fate to be in 
chains for His sake. I declare to you that all Salamanca 
does not contain as many fetters, manacles, and chains as 
I long to wear for the love of Jesus Christ." St. Ignatius 
went to his crown on the 31st July, 1556. 

Reflection. — Ask St. Ignatius to obtain for you the 
grace to desire ardently the greater glory of God, even 
though it may cost you much suffering and humiliation. 



August i. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



383 



AUGUST i.— ST. PETER'S CHAINS. 

Herod Agrippa, King of the Jews, having put to death 
St. James the Great in the year 44, in order to gain the 
affection and applause of his people, caused St. Peter, the 
prince of the sacred college, to be cast into prison. It was 
his intention to put him publicly to death after Easter. The 




whole Church at Jerusalem put up its prayers to God for 
the deliverance of the chief pastor of His whole flock, and 
God favorably heard them. The king took all precautions 
possible to prevent the escape of his prisoner. St. Peter 
lay fast asleep, on the very night before the day intended for 
his execution, when it pleased God to deliver him out of the 
hands of his enemies. He was guarded by sixteen soldiers, 
four of whom always kept sentry in their turns: two in the 
same dungeon with him, and two at the gate. He was 
fastened to the ground by two chains, and slept between the 
two soldiers. In the middle of the night a bright light 
shone in the prison, and an angel appeared near him, and, 



384 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [August 2. 

striking him on the side, awaked him out of his sleep, and 
bade him instantly arise, gird his coat about him, put on his 
sandals and his cloak, and follow him. The Apostle did so, 
for the chains had dropped off from his hands. Following 
his guide, he passed after him through the first and second 
wards or watches, and through the iron gate which led into 
the city, which opened to them of its own accord. The 
angel conducted him through one street, then, suddenly 
disappearing, left him to seek some asylum. The Apostle 
went directly to the house of Mary the mother of John, sur- 
named Mark, where several disciples were met together, and 
were sending up their prayers to heaven for his deliverance. 
As he stood knocking without, a young woman, knowing 
Peter's voice, ran in and informed the company that he was 
at the door; they concluded it must be his guardian angel, 
sent by God upon some extraordinary account, until, being 
let in, he related to them the whole manner of his miracu- 
lous escape; and having enjoined them to give notice thereof 
to St. James and the rest of the brethren, he withdrew to a 
place of more retirement and security, carrying, wherever 
he went, the heavenly blessing and life. 

Reflection. — This miracle affords a confirmation of 
the divine promise, " If two of you shall consent upon earth 
concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be 
done to them by My Father who is in heaven." 



AUGUST 2.— ST. STEPHEN, POPE AND MARTYR. 

St. Stephen was by birth a Roman, and, being promoted 
to holy orders, was made archdeacon under the holy Popes 
St. Cornelius and St. Lucius. The latter having suffered 
martyrdom, St. Stephen was chosen to succeed him, and 
was elected Pope on the 3d of May, 253. The controversy 
concerning the rebaptization of heretics gave St. Stephen 
much trouble. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church, 
that baptism given in the name of the three persons of the 
Blessed Trinity is valid, though it be conferred by a heretic. 



August 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



385 



St. Stephen suffered himself patiently to be traduced as a 
favorer of heresy in approving heretical baptism, not doubt- 
ing but those great men who by mistaken zeal were led 
astray would, when the heat of the dispute had subsided, 
calmly open their eyes to the truth. Thus by his zeal he 
preserved the integrity of faith, and by his toleration and 
forbearance saved many souls. The persecutions becoming 
violent, he assembled the faithful together in the under- 




ground tombs of the martyrs, to celebrate Mass and to ex- 
hort them to remain true to Christ. On the 2d of August, 
257, while seated in his pontifical chair, he was beheaded by 
the satellites of the emperor; and the chair is still shown, 
stained with his blood. 

ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI. 

St. Alphonsus was born of noble parents, near Naples, 
in 1696. His spiritual training was entrusted to the Fathers 
of the Oratory in that city, and from his boyhood Alphonsus 
was known as a most devout Brother of the Little Oratory. 



386 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS; 



[August 2. 



At the early age of sixteen he was made doctor in law, and 
he threw himself into this career with ardor and success. A 
mistake, by which he lost an important cause, showed him 
the vanity of human fame, and determined him to labor only 
for the glory of God. He entered the priesthood, devoting 
himself to the most neglected souls; and to carry on this 
work he founded later the missionary Congregation of the 
Most Holy Redeemer. At the age of sixty-six he became 
Bishop of St, Agatha, and undertook the reform of his dio- 
cese with the zeal of a Saint. He made a vow never to lose 
time, and, though his life was spent in prayer and work, he 
composed a vast number of books, rilled with such science, 
unction, and wisdom that he has been declared one of the 
Doctors of the Church. St. Alphonsus wrote his first book 
at the age of forty-nine, and in his eighty-third year had 
published about sixty volumes, when his director forbade 
him to write more. Very many of these books were written 
in the half-hours snatched from his labors as missionary, 
religious superior, and Bishop, or in the midst of continual 
bodily and mental sufferings. With his left hand he would 
hold a piece of marble against his aching head while his right 
hand wrote. Yet he counted no time wasted which was 
spent in charity. He did not refuse to hold a long corre- 
spondence with a simple soldier who asked his advice, or to 
play the harpsichord while he taught his novices to sing 
spiritual canticles. He lived in evil times, and met with 
many persecutions and disappointments. For his last seven 
years he was prevented by constant sickness from offering 
the Adorable Sacrifice; but he received Holy Communion 
daily, and his love for Jesus Christ and his trust in Mary's 
prayers sustained him to the end. He died in 1787, in his 
ninety-first year. 

Reflection. — Let us do with all our heart the duty of 
each day, leaving the result to God, as well as the care of the 
future. 



August 3.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



38/ 



AUGUST 3. — THE FINDING OF ST. STEPHEN'S RELICS. 

This second festival, in honor of the holy protomartyr St. 
Stephen, was instituted by the Church on the occasion of the 
discovery of his precious remains. His body lay long- con- 
cealed, under the ruins of an old tomb, in a place twenty 
miles from Jerusalem, called Caphargamala, where stood a 




church which was served by a venerable priest named Lucian. 
In the year 415, on Friday, the 3d of December, about nine 
o'clock at night, Lucian was sleeping in his bed in the bap- 
tistery, where he commonly lay in order to guard the sacred 
vessels of the church. Being half awake, he saw a tall, 
comely old man of a venerable aspect, who approached 
Lucian, and, calling him thrice by his name, bid him go to 
Jerusalem and tell Bishop John to come and open the tombs 
in which his remains and those of certain other servants of 
Christ lay, that through their means God might open to 
many the gates of His clemency. This vision was repeated 
twice. After the second time, Lucian went to Jerusalem and 



388 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 4. 



laid the whole affair before Bishop John, who bade him go 
and search for the relics, which, the Bishop concluded, would 
be found under a heap of small stones which lay in a field 
near his church. In digging up the earth here, three coffins 
or chests were found. Lucian sent immediately to acquaint 
Bishop John with this. He was then at the Council of 
Diospolis, and, taking along with him Sutonius, Bishop of 
Sebaste, and Eleutherius, Bishop of Jericho, came to the 
place. Upon the opening of St. Stephen's coffin, the earth 
shook, and there came out of the coffin such an agreeable 
odor that no one remembered to have ever smelled any thing 
like it. There was a vast multitude of people assembled in 
that place, among whom were many persons afflicted with 
divers distempers, of whom seventy-three recovered their 
health upon the spot. They kissed the holy relics, and then 
shut them up. The Bishop consented to leave a small por- 
tion of them at Caphargamala ; the rest were carried in the 
coffin, with singing of psalms and hymns, to the Church of 
Sion at Jerusalem. The translation was performed on the 
26th of December, on which day the Church hath ever since 
honored the memory of St. Stephen, commemorating the dis- 
covery of his relics on the 3d of August probably on account 
of the dedication of some church in his honor. 

Reflection. — St. Austin, speaking of the miracles of St. 
Stephen, addresses himself to his flock as follows: " Let us 
so desire to obtain temporal blessings by his intercession that 
we may merit, in imitating him, those which are eternal." 



AUGUST 4.— ST. DOMINIC, 

St. Dominic was born in Spain, a.d. 1 170. As a student,, 
he sold his books to feed the poor in a famine, and offered' 
himself in ransom for a slave. At the age of twenty-five, he 
became superior of the Canons Regular of Osma, and accom- 
panied his Bishop to France. There his heart was well-nigh 
broken by the ravages of the Albigensian heresy, and his life 
was henceforth devoted to the conversion of heretics and the 



August 4.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



389 



defence of the faith. For this end, he established his three-, 
fold religions Order. The convent for nuns was founded 
first, to rescue young girls from heresy and crime. Then a 
company of apostolic men gathered around him, and became 
the Order of Friar Preachers. Lastly came the Tertiaries, 
persons of both sexes living in the world. God blessed the 
new Order, and France, Italy, Spain, and England welcomed 
the Preaching Friars. Our Lady took them under her 




special protection, and whispered to St. Dominic as he 
preached. It was in 1208, while St. Dominic knelt in the 
little chapel of Notre Dame de la Prouille, and implored the 
great Mother of God to save the Church, that Our Lady 
appeared to him, gave him the Rosary, and bade him go forth 
and preach. Beads in hand, he revived the courage of the 
Catholic troops, led them to victory against overwhelming 
numbers, and finally crushed the heresy. His nights were 
spent in prayer ; and, though pure as a virgin, thrice before 
morning broke, he scourged himself to blood. His words 
rescued countless souls, and three times raised the dead to 
life. At length, on August 6th, 1221, at the age of fifty-one, 
he gave up his soul to God. 



39° LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [August 5. 

Reflection. — " God has never," said St. Dominic, 
" refused me what I have asked ; " and he has left us the 
Rosary, that we may learn, with Mary's help, to pray easily 
and simply in the same holy trust. 



AUGUST 5.— THE DEDICATION OF ST. MARY AD NIVES. 

There are in Rome three patriarchal churches, in which 
the Pope officiates on different festivals. These are the 
Basilics of St. John Lateran, St. Peter's on the Vatican Hill, 




and St. Mary Major. This last is so called because it is, both 
in antiquity and dignity, the first church in Rome among 
those that are dedicated to God in honor of the Virgin Mary. 
The name of the Liberian Basilic was given it because it was 
founded in the time of Pope Liberius, in the fourth century ; 
it was consecrated, under the title of the Virgin Mary, by 
Sixtus III., about the year 435. It is also called St. Mary 
ad Nives, or at the snozv, from a popular tradition that the 
Mother of God chose this place for a church under her invo- 



t 
1 



August 6.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



391 



cation by a miraculous snow that fell upon this spot in sum- 
mer, and by a vision in which she appeared to a patrician 
named John, who munificently founded and endowed this 
church in the pontificate of Liberius, The same Basilic has 
sometimes been known by the name of St. Mary ad Prcesepe, 
from the holy crib or manger of Bethlehem, in which Christ 
was laid at His birth. It resembles an ordinary manger, is 
kept in a case of massive silver, and in it lies an image of a 
little child, also of silver. On Christmas Day the holy man- 
ger is taken out of the case and exposed. It is kept in a 
sumptuous subterraneous chapel in this church. 

Reflection. — To render our supplications the more 
efficacious, we ought to unite them in spirit to those of all 
^Qj-ent penitents and devout souls, in invoking this advocate 
for sinners. 



AUGUST 6.— THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD. 

Our Divine Redeemer, being in Galilee about a year 
before His Sacred Passion, took with Him St. Peter and the 
two sons of Zebedee, SS. James and John, and led them to a 
retired mountain. Tradition assures us that this was Mount 
Tabor, which is exceedingly high and beautiful, and was 
anciently covered with green trees and shrubs, and was very 
fruitful. It rises something like a sugar-loaf, in a vast plain 
in the middle of Galilee. This was the place in which the 
Man-God appeared in His glory. Whilst Jesus prayed. He 
suffered that glory which was always due to His sacred 
humility, and of which, for our sake, He deprived it to diffuse 
a ray over His whole body. His face was altered and shone 
as the sun, and His garments became white as snow. Moses 
and Elias were seen by the three Apostles in His company on 
this occasion, and were heard discoursing with Him of the 
death which He was to suffer in Jerusalem. The three 
Apostles were wonderfully delighted with this glorious 
vision, and St. Peter cried out to Christ, " Lord, it is good for 
us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for Thee, one 



392 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 6. 



for Moses, and one for Elias." Whilst St. Peter was speak- 
ing, there came, on a sudden, a bright shining cloud from 
heaven, an emblem of the presence of God's majesty, and 
from out of this cloud was heard a voice which said, " This is 
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." 
The Apostles that were present, upon hearing this voice, 
were seized with a sudden fear, and fell upon the ground; but 
Jesus, going to them, touched them, and bade them to rise. 




They immediately did so, and saw no one but Jesus standing 
in His ordinary state. This vision happened in the night. 
As they went down the mountain early the next morning, 
Jesus bade them not to tell any one what they had seen till 
He should be risen from the dead. 

Reflection. — From the contemplation of this glorious 
mystery we ought to conceive a true idea of future happi- 
ness ; if this once possess our souls, we will think nothing of 
any difficulties or labors we can meet with here, but regard 
with great indifference all the goods and evils of this life, pro- 
vided we can but secure our portion in the kingdom of God's 
glory. 



August 7.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



393 



AUGUST 7.— ST. CAJETAN. 

Cajetan was born at Vicenza, in 1480, of pious and noble 
parents, who dedicated him to our Blessed Lady. From 
childhood he was known as the Saint, and in later years as 
" the hunter of souls." A distinguished student, he left his 




native town to seek obscurity in Rome, but was there forced 
to accept office at the court of Julius II. On the death of 
that Pontiff, he returned to Vicenza, and disgusted his rela- 
tives by joining the Confraternity of St. Jerome, whose mem- 
bers were drawn from the lowest classes ; while he spent his 
fortune in building hospitals, and devoted himself to nursing 
the plague-stricken. To renew the lives of the clergy, he 
instituted the first community of Regular Clerks, known as 
Theatines. They devoted themselves to preaching, the 
administration of the Sacraments, and the careful perform- 
ance of the Church's rites and ceremonies. St. Cajetan was 
the first to introduce the Forty Hours' Adoration of the 



394 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 8. 



Blessed Sacrament, as an antidote to the heresy of Calvin. 
He had a most tender love for our Blessed Lady, and his 
piety was rewarded; for one Christmas eve she placed the 
Infant Jesus in his arms. When the Germans, under the 
Constable Bourbon, sacked Rome, St. Cajetan was barba- 
rously scourged, to extort from him riches which he had long 
before securely stored in heaven. When St. Cajetan was on 
his death-bed, resigned to the will of God, eager for pain to 
satisfy his love, and for death to attain to life, he beheld the 
Mother of God, radiant with splendor and surrounded by 
ministering seraphim. In profound veneration, he said, 
"Lady, bless me!" Mary replied, "Cajetan, receive the 
blessing of my Son, and know that I am here as a reward for 
the sincerity of your love, and to lead you to Paradise." 
She then exhorted him to patience in fighting an evil who 
troubled him, and gave orders to the choirs of angels to 
escort his soul in triumph to. heaven. Then, turning her 
countenance full of majesty and sweetness upon him, she 
said, " Cajetan, my Son calls thee. Let us go in peace.' , 
Worn out with toil and sickness, he went to his reward in 
1547. 

Reflection. — Imitate St. Cajetan's devotion to our 
Blessed Lady, by invoking her aid before every work. 



AUGUST 8.— ST. CYRIACUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, MAR- 
TYRS. 

St. Cyriacus was a holy deacon at Rome, under the 
Popes Marcellinus and Marcellus. In the persecution of 
Diocletian, in 303, he was crowned with a glorious martyr- 
dom in that city. With him suffered also Largus and 
Smaragdus and twenty others. Their bodies were first 
buried near the place of their execution, on the Salarian Way, 
but were soon after removed to a farm of the devout Lady 
Lucina, on the Ostian Road, on the eighth day of August. 



August 8.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



395 




Reflection. — To honor the martyrs and duly celebrate 
their festivals, we must learn their spirit and study to imitate 
them according to the circumstances of our state. We must, 
like them, resist evil, must subdue our passions, suffer afflic- 
tions with patience, and bear with others without murmuring 
or complaining. The cross is the ladder by which we must 
ascend to heaven. 



BLESSED PETER FAVRE. 

Born a.d. 1506, of poor Savoyard shepherds, Peter, at 
his earnest request, was sent to school, and in after years 
to the University of Paris. His college friends were St. 
Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. Ignatius found 
the young man's heart ready for his thoughts of apostolic 
zeal; Peter became his first companion, and in the year of 
England's revolt was ordained the first priest of the new 
Society of Jesus. From that day to the close of his life, he 
was ever in the van of the Church's struggles with falsehood 
and sin. Boldly facing heresy in Germany, he labored not 



396 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 9. 



less diligently to rouse up the dormant faith and charity of 
Catholic courts and Catholic lands. The odor of Blessed 
Peter's virtues drew after him into religion the Duke of 
Gandia, Francis Borgia, and a young student of Nimeguen, 
Peter Canisius, both to become Saints like their master. 
The Pope, Paul III., had chosen Blessed Favre to be his 
theologian at the Council of Trent, and King John III., of 
Portugal, wished to send him as patriarch and apostle into 
Abyssinia. Sick and worn with labor, but obedient unto 
death, the father hastened back to Rome, where his last ill- 
ness came upon him. He died, in his fortieth year, as one 
would wish to die, in the very arms of his best friend and 
spiritual father, St. Ignatius. 

Reflection. — As the body sinks under fatigue unless 
supported by food, so external works, however holy, wear 
out the soul which is not regularly nourished by prayer. In 
the most crowded day we can make time briefly and secretly 
to lift our soul to God and draw new strength from Him. 



AUGUST 9. — ST. ROMANUS, MARTYR. 

St. Romanus was a soldier in Rome at the time of the 
martyrdom of St. Laurence. Seeing the joy and constancy 
with which that holy martyr suffered his torments, he was 
moved to embrace the faith, and, addressing himself to St. 
Laurence, was instructed and baptized by him in prison. 
Confessing aloud what he had done, he was arraigned, con- 
demned, and beheaded the day before the martyrdom of 
St. Laurence. Thus lie arrived at his crown before his 
guide and master. The body of St. Romanus was first 
buried on the road to Tibur, but his remains were translated 
to Lucca, where they are kept under the high altar of a beau- 
tiful church which bears his name. 

Reflection. — We are bound to glorify God by our lives, 
and Christ commands that our good works shine before 
men. It was the usual saying of the apostle St. Matthias, 



August io.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



397 




" The faithful sins if his neighbor sins." Such ought to be 
the zeal of every one to instruct and edify his neighbor by 
word and example. 



AUGUST io.— ST. LAURENCE, MARTYR. 

St. Laurence was the chief among the seven deacons 
of the Roman Church. In the year 258, Pope Sixtus was 
led out to die, and St. Laurence stood by, weeping that he 
could not share his fate. " I was your minister," he said, 
" when you consecrated the blood of Our Lord; why do you 
leave me behind now that you are about to shed your own? " 
The holy Pope comforted him with the words, " Do not 
weep, my son; in three days you will follow me." This 
prophecy came true. The prefect of the city knew the rich 
offerings which the Christians put into the hands of the 
clergy, and he demanded the treasures of the Roman Church 
from Laurence, their guardian. The Saint promised, at the 
end of three days, to show him riches exceeding all the 
wealth of the empire, and set about collecting the poor, the 



398 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August io. 



infirm, and the religious who lived by the alms of the faith- 
ful, He then bade the prefect " see the treasures of the 
Church." Christ, whom Laurence had served in his poor, 
gave him strength in the conflict which ensued. Roasted 
over a slow fire, he made sport of his pains. " I am done 
enough," he said; " eat, if you will." At length Christ, the 
Father of the poor, received him into eternal habitations. 
God showed by the glory which shone around St. Laurence 




the value He set upon his love for the poor. Prayers 
innumerable were granted at his tomb; and he continued 
from his throne in heaven his charity to those in need, grant- 
ing them, as St. Augustine says, " the smaller graces which 
they sought, and leading them to the desire of better gifts." 

Reflection. — Our Lord appears before us in the per- 
sons of the poor. Charity to them is a great sign of pre- 
destination. It is almost impossible, the holy Fathers assure 
us, for any one who is charitable to the poor for Christ's 
sake to perish. 



August ii.j LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 399 



AUGUST 11 — SS. TIBURTIUS AND SUSANNA, MARTYRS. 

Agrestius Chromatius was vicar to the prefect of 
Rome, and had condemned several martyrs in the reign of 
Carinus; and in the first years of Diocletian, St. Tranquil- 
linus, being brought before him, assured him that, having 
been afflicted with the gout, he had recovered a perfect state 
of health by being baptized. Chromatius was troubled with 




the same distemper, and being convinced by this miracle of 
the truth of the Gospel, sent for a priest, and, receiving- the 
sacrament of baptism, was freed from that corporal infirmity. 
Chromatius's son, Tiburtius, was ordained subdeacon, and 
was soon after betrayed to the persecutors, condemned to 
many torments, and at length beheaded on the Lavican 
Road, three miles from Rome, where a church was after- 
ward built. His father, Chromatius, retiring into the coun- 
try, lived there concealed, in the fervent practice of all 
Christian virtues. 



400 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 12. 



St. Susanna was nobly born in Rome, and is said to 
have been niece to Pope Caius. Having made a vow of 
virginity, she refused to marry, on which account she was 
impeached as a Christian, and suffered with heroic constancy 
a cruel martyrdom. St. Susanna suffered towards the be- 
ginning of Diocletian's reign, about the year 295.. 

Reflection. — Sufferings were to the martyrs the most 
distinguishing mercy, extraordinary graces, and sources of 
the greatest crowns and glory. All afflictions which God 
sends are in like maimer the greatest mercies and blessings ; 
they are the most precious talents to be improved by us to 
the increasing of our love and affection to God, and the exer- 
cise of the most heroic virtues of self-denial, patience, humil- 
ity, resignation, and penance. 



AUGUST 12.— ST. CLARE, ABBESS. 

On Palm Sunday, March 17th, 12 12, the Bishop of Assisi 
left the altar to present a palm to a noble maiden, eighteen 
years of age, whom bashfulness had detained in her place. 
This maiden was St. Clare. Already she had learnt from St. 
Francis to hate the world, and was secretly resolved to live 
for God alone. The same night she escaped, with one com- 
panion, to the Church of the Portiuncula, where she was met 
by St. Francis and his brethren. At the altar of Our Lady, 
St. Francis cut off her hair, clothed her in his habit of pen- 
ance, a piece of sackcloth, with his cord as a girdle. Thus 
was she espoused to Christ. In a miserable house outside 
Assisi she founded her Order, and was joined by her sister, 
fourteen years of age, and afterwards by her mother and 
other noble ladies. They went barefoot, observed perpetual 
abstinence, constant silence, and perfect poverty. While the 
Saracen army of Frederick II. was ravaging the valley of 
Spoleto, a body of infidels advanced to assault St. Clare's 
convent, which stood outside Assisi. The Saint caused the 
Blessed Sacrament to be placed in a monstrance, above the 
gate of the monastery facing the enemy, and kneeling before 



August 13.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



401 



it, prayed, " Deliver not to beasts, O Lord, the souls of 
those who confess to Thee." A voice from the Host replied, 
" My protection will never fail you." A sudden panic seized 
the infidel host, which took to flight, and the Saint's convent 
was spared. During her illness of twenty-eight years, the 
Holy Eucharist was her only support, and spinning linen for 




the altar the one work of her hands. She died a.d. 1253, as 
the Passion was being read, and Our Lady and the angels 
conducted her to glory. 

Reflection. — In a luxurious and effeminate age, the 
daughters of St. Clare still bear the noble title of poor, and 
preach by their daily lives the poverty of Jesus Christ. 



AUGUST 13.— ST. RADEGUNDES, QUEEN. 

St. Radegundes was the daughter of a king of Thuringia 
who was assassinated by his brother; a war ensuing, our 
Saint, at the age of twelve, was made prisoner and carried 
captive by Qotaire, King of Soissons, who had her instructed 



402 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 13. 



in the Christian religion and baptized. The great mysteries 
of our faith made such an impression on her tender soul that 
she gave herself to God with her whole heart, and desired to 
consecrate to him her virginity ; she was obliged at last, how- 
ever, to yield to the king's wish that she should become his 
wife. As a great queen, she continued no less an enemy to 
sloth and vanity than she was before, and divided her time 
chiefly between her oratory, the Church, and the care of the 




poor. She also kept long fasts, and during Lent wore a hair- 
cloth under her rich garments. Clotaire was at first pleased 
with her devotions, and allowed her full liberty in them, but 
afterward used frequently to reproach her for her pious exer- 
cises, saying he had married a nun rather than a queen, who 
converted his court into a monastery. Seeing that Clotaire 
was inflamed by bad passions, our Saint asked and obtained 
his leave to retire from court. She went to Noyon, and was 
consecrated deaconess by St. Medard. Radegundes first 
withdrew to Sais, and some time after she went to Poitiers, 
and there built a great monastery. She had a holy virgin, 
named Agnes, made the first abbess, and paid to her an im- 



August 14.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



403 



plicit obedience in all things, not reserving to herself the dis- 
posal of the least thing. King Clotaire, repenting of his evil 
conduct, wished her to return to court, but, through the in- 
tercession of St. Germanus of Paris, she was allowed to 
remain in her retirement, where she died on the 13th of 
August, 587. 



AUGUST 14.— ST. EUSEBEUS PRIEST. 

The Church celebrates this day the memory of St. 
Eusebius, who opposed the Arians, at Rome, with so much 
zeal. He was imprisoned in his room by order of the 
Emperor Constantius, and sanctified his captivity by con- 




stant prayer. Another Saint of the same name, a priest and 
martyr, is commemorated on this day. In the reign of 
Diocletian and Maximian, before they had published any 
new edicts against the Christians, Eusebius, a holy priest, a 
man eminently endowed with the spirit of prayer and all 
apostolical virtues, suffered death for the faith, probably in 



404 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [August 1 5. 

Palestine. The Emperor Maximian happening to be in that 
country, complaint was made to Maxentius, president of the 
province, that Eusebius distinguished himself by his zeal in 
invoking and preaching Christ, and the holy man was seized. 
Maximian was by birth a barbarian, and one of the roughest 
and most brutal and savage of all men. Yet the undaunted 
and modest virtue of this stranger, set off by a heavenly- 
grace, struck him with awe. He desired to save the servant 
of Christ, but, like Pilate, would not give himself any trouble 
or hazard incurring the displeasure of those whom on all 
other occasions he despised. Maxentius commanded Euse- 
bius to sacrifice to the gods, and on the Saint refusing, the 
president condemned him to be beheaded. Eusebius, hear- 
ing the sentence pronounced, said aloud, " I thank Your 
goodness and praise Your power, O Lord Jesus Christ, that, 
by calling me to the trial of my fidelity, You have treated me 
as one of Yours." He, at that instant, heard a voice from 
heaven, saying to him, " If you had not been found worthy 
to suffer, you could not be admitted into the court of Christ 
or to the seats of the just." Being come to the place of 
execution, he knelt down, and his head was struck off. 

Reflection. — Let us learn, from the example of the 
Saints, courage in the service of God. He calls upon us to 
endure suffering of body and of mind, if it is necessary, to 
prove our fidelity to Him; and He promises to support us by 
His strength, His light, and His heavenly consolation. 



AUGUST 15. — THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN 

MARY. 

On this festival, the Church commemorates the happy 
departure from life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her 
translation into the kingdom of her Son, in which she 
received from Him a crown of immortal glory, and a throne 
above all the other Saints and heavenly spirits. After Christ, 
as the triumphant Conqueror ot death and hell, ascended 
into heaven, His Blessed Mother remained at Jerusalem, 



August 15.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



405 



persevering in prayer with the disciples, till, with them, she 
had received the Holy Ghost. She lived to a very advanced 
age, but finally paid the common debt of nature, none among 
the children of Adam being exempt from that rigorous law. 
But the death of the Saints is rather to be called a sweet 
sleep than death; much more that of the Queen of Saints, 
who had been exempt from all sin. It is a traditionary pious 
belief, that the body of the Blessed Virgin was raised by 




God soon after her death, and taken up to glory, by a singu- 
lar privilege, before the general resurrection of the dead. 
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the greatest 
of all the festivals which the Church celebrates in her honor. 
It is the consummation of all the other great mysteries by 
which her life was rendered most wonderful; it is the birth- 
day of her true greatness and glory, and the crowning of all 
the virtues of her whole life, which we admire single in her 
other festivals. 

Reflection. — Whilst we contemplate, in profound senti- 
ments of veneration, astonishment, and praise, the glory to 
which Mary is raised by her triumph on this day, we ought, 



406 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 16. 



for our own advantage, to consider by what means she 
arrived at this sublime degree of honor and happiness, that 
we may walk in her steps. No other way is open to us. 
The same path which conducted her to glory will also lead 
us thither; we shall be partners in her reward if we copy 
her virtues. 



AUGUST 16. — ST. HYACINTH. 

Hyacinth, the glorious apostle of Poland and Russia, 
was born of noble parents in Poland, about the year 1185. 
In 1218, being already Canon of Cracow, he accompanied 
his uncle, the Bishop of that place, to Rome. There he met 




St. Dominic, and received the habit of the Friar Preachers 
from the patriarch himself, of whom he became a living copy. 
So wonderful was his progress in virtue that within a year 
Dominic sent him to preach and plant the Order in Poland, 
where he founded two houses. His apostolic journeys ex- 
tended over numerous regions; Austria, Bohemia, Livonia, 



August 17.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



40; 



the shores of the Black Sea, Tartary, and Northern China on 
the east, and Sweden and Norway to the west, were evan- 
gelized by him, and he is said to have visited Scotland. 
Everywhere multitudes were converted, churches and con- 
vents were built; one hundred and twenty thousand pagans 
and infidels were baptized by his hands. He worked numer- 
ous miracles, and at Cracow raised a dead youth to life. 
He had inherited from St. Dominic a most filial confidence 
in the Mother of God; to her he ascribed his success, and to 
her aid he looked for his salvation. When St. Hyacinth 
was at Kiev, the Tartars sacked the town, but it was only 
as he finished Mass that the Saint heard of the danger. 
Without waiting to unvest, he took the ciborium in his 
hands, and was leaving the church. As he passed by an 
image of Mary a voice said: " Hyacinth, my son, why dost 
thou leave me behind? Take me with thee, and leave me 
not to mine enemies." The statue was of heavy alabaster; 
but when Hyacinth took it in his arms it w T as light as a reed. 
With the Blessed Sacrament and the image he came to the 
river Dnieper, and walked dryshod over the surface of the 
waters. On the eve of the Assumption, he was warned of 
his coming death. In spite of a wasting fever, he celebrated 
Mass on the feast, and communicated as a dying man. He 
was anointed at the foot of the altar, and died the same 
day, a.d. 1257. 

Reflection. — St. Hyacinth teaches us to employ every 
effort in the service of God, and to rely for success not on 
our own industry, but on the prayer of His Immaculate 
Mother. 



AUGUST 17. — ST. LIBER ATUS, ABBOT, AND SIX MONKS, 

MARTYRS. 

Huneric, the Arian Vandal king in Africa, in the seventh 
year of his reign, published fresh edicts against the Catholics, 
and ordered their monasteries to be everywhere demolished. 
Seven monks, named Liberatus, Boniface, Servus, Rusticus. 
Rogatus, Septimus and Maximus, who lived in a monas- 



408 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 17. 



tery near Capsa, in the province of Byzacena, were at that 
time summoned to Carthage. Tfiey were first tempted with 
great promises; but as they remained constant in the belief 
of the Trinity, and of one baptism, they were loaded with 
irons and thrown into a dark dungeon. The faithful, having 
bribed the guards, visited the Saints day and night, to be 
instructed by them and mutually to encourage one another 
to suffer for the faith of Christ. The king, learning this, 




commanded them to be more closely confined, loaded with 
heavier irons, and tortured with a cruelty never heard of 
till that time. Soon after, he condemned them to be put 
into an old ship and burnt at sea. The martyrs walked 
cheerfully to the shore, contemning the insults of the Arians 
as they passed along. Particular endeavors were used by 
the persecutors to gain Maximus, who was very young; but 
God, who makes the tongues of children eloquent to praise 
His name, gave him strength to withstand all their efforts, 
and he boldly told them that they should never be able to 
separate him from his holy abbot and brethren, with whom 
he had borne the labors of a penitential life for the sake of 



August 18.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



409 



everlasting glory. An old vessel was filled with dry sticks, 
and the seven martyrs were put on board and bound on the 
wood; and fire was put to it several times, but it went out 
immediately, and all endeavors to kindle it were in vain. 
The tyrant, in rage and confusion, gave orders that the 
martyrs' brains should be dashed out with oars, which was 
done, and their bodies cast into the sea, which threw them 
all on the shore. The Catholics interred them honorably 
in the monastery of Bigua, near the Church of St. Celerinus. 
They suffered in the year 483. 

Reflection. — " Let none of you suffer as a murderer, 
or a thief, or a railer, or a coveter of other men's things; 
but if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him 
glorify God in that name." 



AUGUST 18.— ST. HELENA, EMPRESS. ST. AGAPETUS, 

MARTYR. 

It was the pious boast of the city of Colchester, England, 
for many ages, that St. Helena was born within its walls ; and 
though this honor has been disputed, it is certain that she was 
a British princess. She embraced Christianity late in life ; 
but her incomparable faith and piety greatly influenced her 
son Constantine, the first Christian emperor, and served to 
kindle a holy zeal in the hearts of the Roman people. For- 
getful of her high dignity, she delighted to assist at the 
Divine Office amid the poor; and by her alms-deeds showed 
herself a mother to the indigent and distressed. In her 
eightieth year, she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, with the 
ardent desire of discovering the cross on which our Blessed 
Redeemer suffered. After many labors, three crosses were 
found on Mount Calvary, together with the nails and the 
inscription recorded by the Evangelists. It still remained to 
identify the true Cross of Our Lord. By the advice of the 
Bishop, Macarius, the three were applied successively to a 
woman afflicted with an incurable disease, and no sooner had 
the third touched her than she arose perfectly healed. The 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 18. 



pious empress, transported with joy, built a most glorious 
church on Mount Calvary to receive the precious relic, send- 
ing portions of it to Rome and Constantinople, where they 
were solemnly exposed to the adoration of the faithful. In 
the year 312, Constantine found himself attacked by Maxen- 
tius with vastly superior forces, and the very existence of his 
empire threatened. In this crisis, he bethought him of the 
crucified Christian God whom his mother Helena wor- 




shipped; and kneeling down, prayed God to reveal Himself 
and give him the victory. Suddenly, at noonday, a cross of 
fire was seen by his army in the calm and cloudless sky, and 
beneath it the words, In hoc signo vinces — " Through this sign 
thou shalt conquer." By divine command, Constantine 
made a standard like the cross he had seen, which was borne 
at the head of his troops ; and under his Christian ensign they 
marched against the enemy, and obtained a complete victory. 
Shortly after, Helena herself returned to Rome, where she 
expired, a.d. 328. 

St. Agapetus suffered in his youth a cruel martyrdom at 
Praeneste, now called Palestrina, twenty-four miles from 



August 19.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



411 



Rome; under Aurelian, about the year 275. His name is 
famous in the ancient calendars of the Church of Rome. 
Two churches in Palestrina and others in other places are 
dedicated to God under his name. 

Reflection. — St. Helena thought it the glory of her life 
to find the cross of Christ, and to raise a temple in its honor. 
How many Christians in these days are ashamed to make 
this life-giving sign, and to confess themselves the followers 
of the Crucified! 



AUGUST 19. — ST. LOUIS, BISHOP. 



This Saint was little nephew to St. Louis, King of 
France, and nephew, by his mother, to St. Elizabeth of Hun- 
gary. He was born at Brignoles, in Provence, in 1274. He 




was a Saint from the cradle, and from his childhood made it 
his earnest study to do nothing which was not directed to the 
divine service, and with a view only to eternity. Even his 
recreations he referred to this end, and chose only such as 



412 



LIVES THE SAINTS. 



[August 19. 



were serious and seemed barely necessary for the exercise of 
the body and preserving the vigor of the mind. His walks 
usually led him to some church or religious house. It was 
his chief delight to hear the servants of God discourse of 
mortification or the most perfect practices of piety. His 
modesty and recollection in the church inspired with devo- 
tion all who saw him. When he was only seven years old, 
his mother found him often lying in the night on a mat which 
was spread on the floor near his bed, which he did out of an 
early spirit of penance. In 1284, o ur Saint's father, Charles 
II. , then Prince of Salerno, was taken prisoner in a sea-fight 
by the King of Arragon, and was only released on condition 
that he sent into Arragon, as hostages, fifty gentlemen 
and three of his sons, one of whom was our Saint. 
Louis was set at liberty in 1294, by a treaty con- 
cluded between the King of Naples, his father, and 
James II., King of Aragon, one condition of which was 
the marriage of his sister Blanche with the King of Arragon. 
Both courts had, at the same time, extremely at heart the 
project of a double marriage, and that the princess of Ma- 
jorca, sister to King James of Arragon, should be married to 
Louis, but the Saint's resolution of dedicating himself to God 
was inflexible, and he resigned his right to the crown of 
Naples, which he begged his father to confer on his next 
brother, Robert. The opposition of his family obliged the 
superiors of the Friar Minors to refuse for some time to 
admit him into their body, wherefore he took holy orders at 
Naples. The pious Pope St. Celestine had nominated him 
Archbishop of Lyons in 1294; but, as he had not then taken 
the tonsure, he found means to defeat that project. Boniface 
VIII. gave him a dispensation to receive priestly orders in 
the twenty-third year of his age, and afterward sent him a 
like dispensation for the episcopal character, together with 
his nomination to the archbishopric of Toulouse, and a severe 
injunction, in virtue of holy obedience, to accept the same. 
However, he first made his religious profession among the 
Friar Minors on Christmas eve, 1296, and received the epis- 
copal consecration in the beginning of the February follow- 
ing. He travelled to his bishopric as a poor religious, but 



AUGUST 20.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



413 



was received at Toulouse with the veneration due to a Saint 
and the magnificence that became a prince. His modesty, 
mildness, and devotion inspired a love of piety in all who 
beheld him. It was his first care to provide for the relief of 
the indigent, and his first visits were made to the hospitals 
and the poor. In his apostolical labors, he abated nothing of 
his austerities, said Mass every day, and preached frequently. 
Being obliged to go into Provence for certain very urgent 
ecclesiastical affairs, he fell sick at the castle of Brignoles. 
Finding his end draw near, he received the viaticum on his 
knees, melting in tears, and in his last moments ceased not 
to repeat the Hail Mary. He died on the 19th of August, 
1297, being only twenty-three years and six months old. 



AUGUST 20.— ST. BERNARD. 



Bernard was born at the castle of Fontaines, in Bur- 
gundy. The grace of his person and the vigor of his intellect 
filled his parents with the highest hopes, and the world lay 
bright and smiling before him when he renounced it forever 
and joined the monks of Citeaux. All his brothers followed 
Bernard to Citeaux except Nivard, the youngest, who was 
left to be the stay of his father in his old age. " You will 
now be heir of every thing," said they to him, as they 
departed. " Yes," said the boy; " you leave me earth, and 
keep heaven for yourselves ; do you call that fair? " And he 
too left the world. At length their aged father came to 
exchange wealth and honor for the poverty of a monk of 
Clairvaux. One only sister remained behind ; she was mar- 
ried, and loved the world and its pleasures. Magnificently 
dressed, she visited Bernard; he refused to see her, and only 
at last consented to do so, not as her brother, but as the 
minister of Christ. The words he then spoke moved her so 
much that, two years later, she retired to a convent with her 
husband's consent, and died in the reputation of sanctity. 
Bernard's holy example attracted so many novices that other 
monasteries were erected, and our Saint was appointed abbot 



414 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [August 20. 



of that of Clairvaux. Unsparing with himself, he at first 
expected too much of his brethren, who were disheartened 
at his severity; but soon perceiving his error, he led them 
forward, by the sweetness of his correction and the mildness 
of his rule, to wonderful perfection. In spite of his desire to 
lie hid, the fame of his sanctity spread far and wide, and 
many churches asked for him as their Bishop. Through the 
help of Blessed Eugenius III., his former subject, he escaped 




this dignity ; yet his retirement was continually invaded : the 
poor and the weak sought his protection ; bishops, kings, and 
popes applied to him for advice ; and at length Eugenius him- 
self charged him to preach the crusade. By his fervor, 
eloquence, and miracles, Bernard kindled the enthusiasm of 
Christendom, and two splendid armies were despatched 
against the infidel. Their defeat was only due, said the Saint, 
to their own sins. Bernard died a.d. i i 53. His most 
precious writings have earned for him the titles of the last of 
the Fathers and a Doctor of Holy Church. 

Reflection. — St. Bernard used to say to those who 
applied for admission to the monastery, " If you desire to 



August 21.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



415 



enter here, leave at the threshold the body you have brought 
with you from the world; here there is room only for your 
soul." Let us constantly ask ourselves St. Bernard's daily 
question, " To what end didst thou come hither? " 



AUGUST. 21 ST. JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL. 

At the age of sixteen, Jane Frances de Fremyot, already 
a motherless child, was placed under the care of a worldly 
minded governess. In this crisis, she offered herself to the 
Mother of God, and secured Mary's protection for life. 




When a Protestant sought her hand, she steadily refused to 
marry " an enemy of God and His Church," and shortly 
afterwards, as the loving and beloved wife of the Baron de 
Chantal, made her house the pattern of a Christian home. 
But God had marked her for something higher than domes- 
tic sanctity. Two children and a dearly loved sister died, 
and, in the full tide of prosperity, her husband's life was 
taken by the innocent hand of a friend. For seven years 



416 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 22. 



the sorrows of her widowhood were increased by ill-usage 
from servants and inferiors, and the cruel importunities of 
friends, who urged her to marry again. Harassed almost 
to despair by their entreaties, she branded on her heart the 
name of Jesus, and in the end left her beloved home and 
children to live for God alone. It was on the 19th of March, 
1609, ^at Madame de Chantal bade farewell to her family 
and relations. Pale, and with tears in her eyes, she passed 
round the large room, sweetly and humbly taking leave of 
each. Her son, a boy of fifteen, used every entreaty, every 
endearment, to induce his mother not to leave them, and at 
last passionately flung himself across the door of the room. 
In an agony of distress, she passed on over the body of her 
son to the embrace of her aged and disconsolate father. 
The anguish of that parting reached its height when, kneel- 
ing at the feet of the venerable old man, she sought and 
obtained his last blessing, promising to repay in her new 
home his sacrifice by her prayers. Well might St. Francis 
call her " the valiant woman." She was to found with St. 
Francis de Sales a great Order. Sickness, opposition, want, 
beset her, and the death of children, friends, and of St. Fran- 
cis himself followed, while eighty-seven Rouses of the Vis- 
itation rose under her hand. Nine long years of interior 
desolation completed the work of God's grace; and in her 
seventieth year, St. Vincent of Paul saw, at the moment of 
her death, her soul ascend, as a ball of fire, to heaven. 

Reflection. — Profit by the successive trials of life to 
gain the strength and courage of St. Jane Frances, and they 
will become stepping-stones from earth to heaven. 

AUGUST 22. — ST. SYMPHORIAN, MARTYR. 

About the year 180, there was a great procession of the 
heathen goddess Ceres, at Autun, in France. Amongst the 
crcwd was one who refused to pay the ordinary marks of 
worship. He was threfore dragged before the magistrate 
and accused of sacrilege and sedition. When asked his 
name and condition, he replied, " My name is Symphorian; 



August 2 2. J 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



417 



I am a Christian." He came of a noble and Christian fam- 
ily. He was still young, and so innocent that he was said 
to converse with the holy angels. The Christians of Autun 
were few and little known, and the judge could not believe 
that the youth was serious in his purpose. He caused the 
laws enforcing heathen worship to be read, and looked for 
a speedy compliance. Symphorian replied that he must 
obey the laws of the King of kings. " Give me a hammer," 




he said, " and I will break your idol in pieces." He was 
scourged and thrown mto a dungeon. Some days later, 
this son of light came forth from the darkness of his prison, 
haggard and worn, but full of joy. He despised the riches 
and honors offered to him as he had despised torments. He 
died by the sword, and went to the court of the heavenly 
King. The mother of St. Symphorian stood on the city 
walls and saw her son led out to die. She knew the honors 
he had refused and the dishonor of his death, but she 
esteemed the reproach of Christ better than all the riches 
of Egypt, and she cried out to him, " My son, my son, keep 
the living God in your heart ; look up to Him who reigns in 
heaven." Thus she shared in the glory of his passion, and 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 23. 



her name lives with his in the records of the Church. Little 
more than a century later, the Roman Empire bowed before 
the faith of Christ. Many miracles spread the glory of St. 
Symphorian, and of Christ the King of Saints. 

Reflection. — The Catholic religion teaches us to be 
subject to every rightful authority. But no earthly author- 
ity has any right against Christ and His Church. If we are 
accused of sedition or disobedience because we are faithful 
to our religion, then we must choose as St. Symphorian 
chose, and obey God rather than man. 



AUGUST 23.— ST. PHILIP BENIZI. 



St. Philip Benizi was born in Florence, on the Feast 
of the Assumption, 1233. That same day, the Order of 
Servites was founded by the Mother of God. As an infant 




at the breast, Philip broke out into speech at the sight of 
these new religious, and begged his mother to give them 
alms. Amidst all the temptations of his youth, he longed 



August 23.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



419 



to become himself a servant of Mary, and it was only the 
fear of his own unworthiness which made him yield to his 
father's wish and begin to practise medicine. After long 
and weary waiting, his doubts were solved by Our Lady 
herself, who in a vision bade him enter her Order. Still 
Philip dared only offer himself as a lay brother, and in this 
humble state he strove to do penance for his sins. In spite 
of his reluctance, he was promoted to the post of master of 
novices; and as his rare abilities were daily discovered, he 
was bidden to prepare for the priesthood. Thenceforth 
honors were heaped upon him; he became general of the 
Order, and only escaped by flight elevation to the Papal 
throne. His preaching restored peace to Italy, which was 
wasted by civil wars; and at the Council of Lyons, he spoke 
to the assembled prelates with the gift of tongues. Amid all 
these favors, Philip lived in extreme penitence, constantly 
examining his soul before the judgment-seat of God, and 
condemning himself as only fit for hell. St. Philip, though 
he was free from the stain of mortal sin, was never weary of 
beseeching God's mercy. From the time he was ten years 
old, he said daily the Penitential Psalms. On his death-bed 
he kept reciting the verses of the Miserere, with his cheeks 
streaming with tears; and during his agony, he went through 
a terrible contest to overcome the fear of damnation. But 
a few minutes before he died, all his doubts disappeared and 
were succeeded by a holy trust. He uttered the responses 
in a low but audible voice; and when at last the Mother of 
God appeared before him, he lifted up his arms with joy and 
breathed a gentle sigh, as if placing his soul in her hand. 
He died on the Octave of the Assumption, 1285. 

Reflection. — Endeavor so to act as you would wish 
to have acted when you stand before your Judge. This is 
the rule of the Saints, and the onlv safe rule for all. 



42C 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 24. 



AUGUST 24.— ST. BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE. 

St. Bartholomew was one of the twelve who were 
called to the Apostolate by our Blessed Lord Himself. Sev- 
eral learned interpreters of the Holy Scripture take this 
Apostle to have been the same as Nathaniel, a native of 
Cana, in Galilee, a doctor in the Jewish law, and one of the 




seventy-two disciples of Christ, to whom he was conducted 
by St. Philip, and whose innocence and simplicity of heart 
deserved to be celebrated with the highest eulogium by the 
divine mouth of our Redeemer. He is mentioned among 
the disciples who were met together in prayer after Christ's 
ascension, and he received the Holy Ghost with the rest. 
Being eminently qualified by the Divine Grace to discharge 
the functions of an apostle, he carried the Gospel through 
the most barbarous countries of the East, penetrating into 
the remoter Indies. He then returned again into the north- 
west part of Asia, and met St. Philip at Hierapolis, in 
Phrygia. Hence he travelled into Lycaonia, where he in- 



August 25.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



421 



structed the people in the Christian faith; but we know not 
even the names of many of the countries in which he 
preached. St. Bartholomew's last removal was into Great 
Armenia, where, preaching in a place obstinately addicted 
to the worship of idols, he was crowned with a glorious mar- 
tyrdom. The modern Greek historians say that he was 
condemned by the governor of Albanopolis to be crucified. 
Others affirm that he was flayed alive, which might well 
enough consist with his crucifixion, this double punishment 
being in use not only in Egypt, but also among the Persians. 

Reflection. — The characteristic virtue of the apostles 
was zeal for the divine glory, the first property of the love 
of God. A soldier is always ready to defend the honor of 
his prince, and a son that of his father; and can a Christian 
say he loves God who is indifferent to His honor? 



AUGUST 25.— ST. LOUIS KING. 

The mother of Louis told him she would rather see him 
die than commit a mortal sin, and he never forgot her words. 
King of France at the age of twelve, he made the defence 
of God's honor the aim of his life. Before two years he had 
crushed the Albigensian heretics, and forced them by strin- 
gent penalties to respect the Catholic faith. Amidst the 
cares of government, he daily recited the Divine Office and 
heard two Masses, and the most glorious churches in France 
are still monuments of his piety. When his courtiers remon- 
strated with Louis for his law that blasphemers should be 
branded on the lips, he replied, " I would willingly have my 
own lips branded to root out blasphemy from my king- 
dom." The fearless protector of the weak and the op- 
pressed, he was chosen to arbitrate in all the great feuds 
of his age between the Pope and the Emperor, between 
Henry III. and the English barons. In 1248, to rescue the 
land which Christ had trod, he gathered round him the chiv- 
alry of France, and embarked for the East. There, before 
the infidel, in victory or defeat, on the bed of sickness or 



422 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 25. 



a captive in chains, Louis showed himself ever the same, the 
first, the best, and the bravest of Christian knights. When 
a captive at Damietta, an Emir rushed into his tent bran- 
dishing a dagger red with the blood of the Sultan, and 
threatened to stab him also unless he would make him a 
knight, as the Emperor Frederick had Facardin. Louis 
calmly replied that no unbeliever could perform the duties 
of a Christian knight. In the same captivity, he was offered 




his liberty on terms lawful in themselves, but enforced by 
an oath which implied a blasphemy, and though the infidels 
held their swords' points at his throat, and threatened a 
massacre of the Christians, Louis inflexibly refused. The 
death of his mother recalled him to France; but when order 
was re-established, he again set forth on a second crusade. 
In August, 1270, his army landed at Tunis, and, though vic- 
torious over the enemy, succumbed to a malignant fever. 
Louis was one of the victims. He received the Viaticum 
kneeling by his camp-bed, and gave up his life with the 
same joy that he had given all else for the honor of God. 



August 26.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



423 



Reflection. — If we cannot imitate St. Louis in dying 
for the honor of God, we can at least resemble him in resent- 
ing the blasphemies offered against God by the infidel, the 
heretic, and the scoffer. 



AUGUST 26.— ST. ZEPHYRINUS, POPE AND MARTYR. 

St. Zephyrinus, a native of Rome, succeeded Victor in 
the pontificate, in the year 202, in which Severus raised the 
fifth most bloody persecution against the Church, which con- 
tinued not for two years only, but until the death of that 




emperor in 211. Under this furious storm this holy pastor 
was the support and comfort of the distressed flock of Christ, 
and he suffered by charity and compassion what every con- 
fessor underwent. The triumphs of the martyrs were indeed 
his joy, but his heart received many deep wounds from the 
fall of apostates and heretics. Neither did this latter afflic- 
tion cease when peace was restored to the Church. Our 
Saint had also the affliction to see the fall of Tertullian, which 



424 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 27. 



seems to have been owing partly to his pride. Eusebius tells 
us that this holy Pope exerted his zeal so strenuously against 
the blasphemies of the heretics that they treated him in the 
most contumelious manner; but it was his glory that they 
called him the principal defender of Christ's divinity. St. 
Zephyrinus filled the pontifical chair seventeen years, dying 
in 219. He was buried in his own cemetery, on the 26th of 
August. He is, in some Martyrologies, styled a martyr, 
which title he might deserve by what he suffered in the per- 
secution, though he perhaps did not die by the executioner. 

Reflection. — God has always raised up holy pastors 
zealous to maintain the faith of His Church inviolable, and to 
watch over the purity of its morals and the sanctity of its dis- 
cipline. We enjoy the greatest advantages of the divine 
grace through their labors, and we owe to God a tribute of 
perpetual thanksgiving and immortal praise for all those 
mercies which He has afforded His Church on earth. 



AUGUST 27.— ST. JOSEPH CALASANCTIUS. 

St. Joseph Calasanctius was born in Arragon, a.d. 
1556. When only five years old, he led a troop of children 
through the streets to find the devil and kill him. He be- 
came a priest, and was engaged in various reforms, when he 
heard a voice saying, " Go to Rome," and had a vision of 
many children who were being taught by him and by a com- 
pany of angels. When he reached the Holy City, his heart 
was moved by the vice and ignorance of the children of the 
poor. Their need mastered his humility, and he founded the 
Order of Clerks Regular of the Pious Schools. He himself 
provided all that was necessary for the education of the chil- 
dren, receiving nothing from them in payment, and there 
were soon about a thousand scholars of every rank under his 
care. Each lesson began with prayer. Every half-hour 
devotion was renewed by acts of faith, hope, and charity, and 
towards the end of school-time the children were instructed 
in the Christian doctrine. They were then escorted home by 



August 28.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



the masters, so as to escape all harm by the way. But 
enemies arose against Joseph from among his own subjects. 
They accused him to the Holy Office, and at the age of 
eighty-six he was led through the streets to prison. At last 
the Order was reduced to a simple congregation. It was not 
restored to its former privileges till after the Saint's death. 




Yet he died full of hope. " My work," he said, " was done 
solely for the love of God." 

Reflection. — " My children," said the Cure of. Ars, " I 
often think that most of the Christians who are lost are lost 
for want of instruction; they do not know their religion 
well." 



AUGUST 28.— ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. 

St. Augustine was born in 354, at Tagaste in Africa. He 
was brought up in the Christian faith, but without receiving 
baptism. An ambitious school-boy of brilliant talents and 
violent passions, he early lost both his faith and his inno- 



426 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 28. 



cence. He persisted in his irregular life until he was thirty- 
two. Being then at Milan professing rhetoric, he tells us 
that the faith of his childhood had regained possession of his 
intellect, but that he could not as yet resolve to break the 
chains of evil habit. One day, however, stung to the heart 
by the account of some sudden conversions, he cried out, 
" The unlearned rise and storm heaven, and we, with all our 
learning, for lack of heart lie wallowing here." He then 




withdrew into a garden, when a long and terrible conflict 
ensued. Suddenly a young fresh voice (he knows not whose) 
breaks in upon his strife with the words, " Take and read ; " 
and he lights upon the passage beginning, " Walk honestly 
as in the day." The battle was won. He received baptism, 
returned home, and gave all to the poor. At Hippo, where 
he settled, he was consecrated bishop in 395. For thirty-five 
years he was the centre of ecclesiastical life in Africa, and the 
Church's mightiest champion against heresy; whilst his writ- 
ings have been everywhere accepted as one of the principal 
sources of devotional thought and theological speculation. 
He died in 430. 



August 29. j 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



427 



Reflection. — Read the lives of the Saints, and you will 
find that you are gradually creating a society about you to 
which in some measure you will be forced to raise the 
standard of your daily life. 



AUGUST 29. — THE BEHEADING OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

St. John the Baptist was called by God to be the fore- 
runner of his Divine Son. In order to preserve his inno- 
cence spotless, and to improve the extraordinary graces 
which he had received, he was directed by the Holy Ghost 




to lead an austere and contemplative life in the wilderness, in 
the continual exercises of devout prayer and penance, from 
his infancy till he was thirty years of age. At this age, the 
faithful minister began to discharge his mission. Clothed 
with the weeds of penance, he announced to all men the obli- 
gation they lay under of washing away their iniquities with 
the tears of sincere compunction; and proclaimed the Mes- 
siah, who was then coming to make his appearance among 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 29. 



them. He was received by the people as the true herald of 
the Most High God, and his voice was, as it were, a trumpet 
sounding from heaven to summon all men to avert the divine 
judgments, and to prepare themselves to reap the benefit of 
the mercy that was offered them. The tetrarch Herod 
Antipas having, in defiance of all laws divine and human, 
married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, who was yet 
living, St. John the Baptist boldly reprehended the tetrarch 
and his accomplice for so scandalous an incest and adultery, 
and Herod, urged on by lust and anger, cast the Saint into 
prison. About a year after St. John had been made a 
prisoner, Herod gave a splendid entertainment to the nobil- 
ity of Galilee. Salome, a daughter of Herodias by her lawful 
husband, pleased Herod by her dancing, insomuch that he 
promised her to grant whatever she asked. On this, Salome 
consulted with her mother what to ask. Herodias instructed 
her daughter to demand the death of John the Baptist, and 
persuaded the young damsel to make it part of her petition 
that the head of the prisoner should be forthwith brought to 
her in a dish. This strange request startled the tyrant him- 
self ; he assented, however, and sent a soldier of his guard to 
behead the Saint in prison, with an order to bring his head in 
a charger and present it to Salome, who delivered it to her 
mother. St. Jerome relates that the furious Herodias made 
it her inhuman pastime to prick the sacred tongue with a 
bodkin. Thus died the great forerunner of our blessed 
Saviour, about two years and three months after his entrance 
upon his public ministry, about a year before the death of our 
blessed Redeemer. 

Reflection. — All the high graces with which St. John 
was favored sprang from his humility; in this all his other 
virtues were founded. If we desire to form ourselves upon 
so great a model, we must, above all things, labor to lay the 
same deep foundation. 



August 30.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



429 



AUGUST 30.— ST. ROSE OF LIMA. 

This lovely flower of sanctity, the first canonized Saint 
of the New World, was born at Lima in 1586. She was 
christened Isabel, but the beauty of her infant face earned 
for her the title of Rose, which she ever after bore. As a 
child, while still in the cradle, her silence under a painful 




surgical operation proved the thirst for suffering already 
consuming her heart. At an early age she took service to 
support her impoverished parents, and worked for them day 
and night. In spite of hardships and austerities, her beauty 
ripened with increasing age, and she was much and openly 
admired. From fear of vanity she cut off her hair, blistered 
her face with pepper and her hands with lime. For further 
security she enrolled herself in the Third Order of St. Domi- 
nic, took St. Catherine of Siena as her model, and redoubled 
her penance. Her cell was a garden hut, her couch a box 
of broken tiles. Under her habit Rose wore a hair-shirt 
studded with iron fjfetils, while, concealed by her veil, a silver 



430 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 30. 



crown armed with ninety points encircled her head. More 
than once, when she shuddered at the prospect of a night of 
torture, a voice said, " My Cross was yet more painful." 
The Blessed Sacrament seemed almost her only food. Her 
love for it was intense. When the Dutch fleet prepared to 
attack the town, Rose took her place before the tabernacle, 
and wept that she was not worthy to die in its defence. All 
her sufferings were offered for the conversion of sinners, and 
the thought of the multitudes in hell was ever before heij 
soul. She died a.d. 1617,-at the age of thirty-one. 

Reflection. — Rose, pure as driven snow, was filled with 
deepest contrition and humility, and did constant and ter- 
rible penance. Our sins are continual, our repentance pass- 
ing, our contrition slight, our penance nothing. How will 
it fare with us? 



ST. FIAKER, ANCHORITE. 

St. Fiaker was nobly born in Ireland, and had his edu- 
cation under the care of a bishop of eminent sanctity, who 
was, according to some, Conan, Bishop of Soder, or the 
Western Islands. Looking upon all worldly advantages as 
dross, he left his country and friends in the flower of his age, 
and with certain pious companions sailed over to France, 
in quest of some solitude in which he might devote himself 
to God, unknown to the rest of the world. Divine Provi- 
dence conducted him to St. Faro, who was the Bishop of 
Meaux, and eminent for sanctity. When St. Fiaker ad- 
dressed himself to him, the prelate, charmed with the marks 
of extraordinary virtue and abilities which he discovered 
in this stranger, gave him a solitary dwelling in a forest called 
Breuil, which was his own patrimony, two leagues from 
Meaux. In this place the holy anchorite cleared the ground 
of trees and briers, made himself a cell, with a small garden, 
and built an oratory in honor of the Blessed Virgin, in which 
he spent great part of the days and nights in devout prayer. 
He tilled his garden, and labored with his own hands for his 



August 30. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



431 



subsistence. The life he led was most austere, and only 
necessity or charity ever interrupted his exercises of prayer 
and heavenly contemplation. Many resorted to him for 
advice, and the poor for relief. But, following- an inviolable 
rule among the Irish monks, he never suffered any woman 
to enter the enclosure of his hermitage. St. Chillen, or 




Kilian, an Irishman of high birth, on his return from Rome, 
visited St. Fiaker, who was his kinsman, and having* passed 
some time under his discipline, was directed by his advice, 
with the authority of the bishops, to preach in that and the 
neighboring dioceses. This commission he executed wkh 
admirable sanctity and fruit. St. Fiaker died about the 
year 670, on the 30th of August. 

Reflection. — Ye who love indolence, ponder well these 
words of St. Paul: " If any man will not work, neither let 
him eat." 



432 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[August 31. 



AUGUST 31. — ST. RAYMUND NONNATUS. 

St. Raymund Nonnatus was born in Catalonia, in the 
year 1204, and was descended of a gentleman's family of a 
small fortune. In his childhood he seemed to find pleasure 
only in his devotions and serious duties. His father, per- 
ceiving in him an inclination to a religious state, took him 




from school, and sent him to take care of a farm which he 
had in the country. Raymund readily obeyed, and, in order 
to enjoy the opportunity of holy solitude, kept the sheep 
himself, and spent his time in the mountains and forests in 
holy meditation and prayer. Some time after, he joined the 
new Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the redemption of cap- 
tives, and was admitted to his profession at Barcelona by 
the holy founder, St. Peter Nolasco. Within two or three 
years after his profession, he was sent into Barbary with a 
considerable sum of money, where he purchased, at Algiers, 
the liberty of a great number of slaves. When all this treas- 
ure was exhausted, he gave himself up as a hostage for the 
ransom of certain others. This magnanimous sacrifice 



August 31.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



433 



served only to exasperate the Mohammedans, who treated 
him with uncommon barbarity, till, fearing lest he died in 
their hands they should lose the ransom which was to be 
paid for the slaves for whom he remained a hostage, they 
gave orders that he should be treated with more humanity. 
Hereupon he was permitted to go abroad about the streets, 
which liberty he made use of to comfort and encourage the 
Christians in their chains, and he converted and baptized 
some Mohammedans. For this the governor condemned 
him to be put to death by thrusting a stake into the body, 
but his punishment was commuted, and he underwent a cruel 
bastinado. This torment did not daunt his courage. So 
long as he saw souls in danger of perishing eternally, he 
thought he had yet clone nothing. St. Raymund had no 
more money to employ in releasing poor captives, and to 
speak to a Mohammedan upon the subject of religion was 
death. He could, however, still exert his endeavors, with 
hopes of some success, or of dying a martyr of charity. He 
therefore resumed his former method of instructing and 
exhorting both the Christians and the infidels. The gov- 
ernor, who was enraged, ordered our Saint to be barbarously 
tortured and imprisoned till his ransom was brought by 
some religious men of his Order, who were sent with it by 
St. Peter. Upon his return to Spain, he was nominated 
cardinal by Pope Gregory IX., and the Pope, being desirous 
to have so holy a man about his person, called him to Rome. 
The Saint obeyed, but went no further than Cardona, when 
he was seized with a violent fever, which proved mortal. He 
died on the 31st of August, in the year 1240, the thirty- 
seventh of his age. 

Reflection. — This Saint gave not only his substance 
but his liberty, and even exposed himself to the most cruel 
torments and death, for the redemption of captives and the 
salvation of souls. But alas! do not we, merely to gratify 
our prodigality, vanity, or avarice, refuse to give the super- 
fluous part of our possessions to the poor, who for want of it 
are perishing with cold and hunger? Let us remember that 
" He that giveth to the poor shall not want." 



434 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September i. 



SEPTEMBER i.— ST. GILES, ABBOT. 

St. Giles, whose name has been held in great veneration 
for several ages in France and England, is said to have been 
an Athenian by birth, and of noble extraction. His extraor- 
dinary piety and learning drew the admiration of the world 
upon him in such a manner that it was impossible for him 




to enjoy in his own country that obscurity and retirement 
which was the chief object of his desires on earth. He there- 
fore sailed to France, and chose an hermitage first in the 
open deserts near the mouth of the Rhone, afterward near 
the river Gard, and lastly in a forest in the diocese of Nismes. 
He passed many years in this close solitude, living on wild 
herbs or roots and water, and conversing only with God. 
We read in his life that he was for some time nourished with 
the milk of a hind in the forest, which, being pursued by 
hunters, fled for refuge to the Saint, who was thus discov- 
ered. The reputation of the sanctity of this holy hermit was 
much increased by many miracles which he wrought, and 



September 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



435 



which rendered his name famous throughout all France. 
St. Giles was highly esteemed by the French king, but could 
not be prevailed upon to forsake his solitude. He, however, 
admitted several disciples, and settled excellent discipline 
in the monastery of which he was the founder, and which, in 
succeeding ages, became a flourishing abbey of the Benedic- 
tine Order. 

Reflection. — He who accompanies the exercises of 
contemplation and arduous penance with zealous and un- 
daunted endeavors to conduct others to the same glorious 
term with himself, shall be truly great in the kingdom of 
heaven. 



SEPTEMBER 2.— ST. STEPHEN, KING. 

Geysa, fourth Duke of Hungary, was, with his wife, con- 
verted to the faith, and saw in a vision the martyr St. Ste- 
phen, who told him that he should have a son, who would 
perfect the work he had begun. This son was born a.d 977, 
and received the name of Stephen. He was most carefully 
educated, and succeeded his father at an early age. He 
began to root out idolatry, suppressed a rebellion of his 
pagan subjects, and founded monasteries and churches all 
over the land. He sent to Pope Sylvester, begging him to 
appoint bishops to the eleven sees he had endowed, and to 
bestow on him, for the greater success of Eis work, the title 
of king. The Pope granted his requests, and sent him 
a cross to be borne before him, saying that he regarded him 
as the true apostle of his people. His devotion was fervent. 
He placed his realms under the protection of our Blessed 
Lady, and kept the feast of her Assumption with peculiar 
affection. He gave good laws, and saw to their execution. 
Throughout his life, we are told, He had Christ on his lips, 
Christ in his heart, and Christ in all he did. His only wars 
were wars of defence, and he was always successful. God 
sent him many and sore trials. One by one his children 
died, but he bore all with perfect submission to the will of 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 2. 



God. When St. Stephen was about to die, he summoned 
the bishops and nobles, and gave them charge concerning 
the choice of a successor. Then he urged them to nurture 
and cherish the Catholic Church, which was still as a tender 
plant in Hungary, to follow justice, humility, and charity, to 
be obedient to the laws, and to show ever a reverent submis- 




sion to the Holy See. Then, raising his eyes towards 
heaven, he said, " O Queen of Heaven, august restorer of 
a prostrate world, to thy care I commend the Holy Church, 
my people, and my realm, and my own departing soul." 
And then, on his favorite feast of the Assumption, a.d. 1038, 
he died in peace. 

Reflection. — " Our duty," says Father Newman, " is 
to follow the Vicar of Christ whither he goeth, and never to 
desert him, however we may be tried; but to defend him at 
all hazards and against all comers, as a son would a father, 
and as a wife a husband, knowing that his cause is the cause 
of God." 



September 3.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



437 



SEPTEMBER 3 ST. SERAPHIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR, 

Si. Seraphia was born at Antioch, of Christian parents, 
who, flying from the persecutions of Adrian, went to Italy 
and settled there. Her parents dying, Seraphia was sought 
in marriage by many, but having resolved to consecrate her- 
self to God alone, she sold all her possessions and distributed 




the proceeds to the poor ; finally she sold herself into a volun- 
tary slavery and entered the service of a Roman lady, named 
Sabina. The piety of Seraphia, her love of work, and her 
charity soon gained the heart of her mistress, who was not 
long in becoming a Christian. Having been denounced as a 
follower of Christ. Seraphia was condemned to death. She 
was at first placed on a burning pile, but remained uninjured 
by the flames. Almost despairing of being able to inflict 
death upon her, the prefect Berillus ordered her to be be- 
headed, and she thus received the crown which she so 
richly merited. Her mistress gathered her remains, and 
interred them with every mark of respect. Sabina, meeting 



438 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 4. 



with a martyr's death, a year after, was laid in the same tomb 
with her faithful servant. As early as the fifth century, there 
was a church at Rome placed under their invocation. 

Reflection. — Christian courage bears relation to our 
faith : " If we continue in the faith, grounded, and settled, 
and immovable," all things will be found possible to us. 

SEPTEMBER 4.— ST. ROSALIA, VIRGIN. 

St. Rosalia was daughter of a noble family descended 
from Charlemagne. She was born at Palermo in Sicily, and 
despising in her youth worldly vanities, made herself an 
abode in a cave on Mount Pelegrino, three miles from Pa- 




lermo, where she completed the sacrifice of her heart to God 
by austere penance and manual labor, sanctified by assiduous 
prayer and the constant union of her soul with God. She 
died in 11 60. Her body was found buried in a grot under 
the mountain, in the year of the jubilee, 1625, under Pope 
Urban VIII., and was translated into the metropolitical 



September 4.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



439 



church of Palermo, of which she was chosen a patroness. 
To her patronage that island ascribes the ceasing of a 
grievous pestilence at the same time. 

St. Rose of Viterbo, who is honored on this same day, 
was born in the spring of 1240, a time when Frederick II. 
was oppressing the Church and many were faithless to the 
Holy See. The infant at once seemed filled with grace; with 
tottering steps she sought Jesus in His tabernacle, she knelt 
before sacred images, she listened to pious talk, retaining all 
she heard, and this when she was scarcely three years old. 
One coarse habit covered her flesh; fasts and disciplines 
were her delight. To defend the Church's rights was her 
burning wish, and for this she received her mission from the 
Mother of God, who gave her the Franciscan habit, with the 
command to go forth and preach. When hardly ten years 
old, Rose went down to the public square at Viterbo, called 
upon the inhabitants to be faithful to the Sovereign Pontiff, 
and vehemently denounced all his opponents. So great was 
the power of her word, and of the miracles which accom- 
panied it, that the Imperial party, in fear and anger, drove 
her from the city, but she continued to preach till Innocent 
IV. was brought back in triumph to Rome and the cause of 
God was won. Then she retired to a little cell at Viterbo, 
and prepared in solitude for her end. She died in her eigh- 
teenth year. Not long after, she appeared in glory to Alex- 
ander IV., and bade him translate her body. He found it as 
the vision had said, but fragrant and beautiful, as if still in 
life. 

Reflection. — Rose lived but seventeen years, saved the 
Church's cause, and died a Saint. We have lived, perhaps, 
much longer, and yet with what result? Every minute some- 
thing can be done for God. Let us be up and doing. 



440 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 5, 



SEPTEMBER 5.— ST. LAURENCE GIUSTINIANI. 

Laurence from a child longed to be a Saint ; and when 
he was nineteen years of age there was granted to him a 
vision of the Eternal Wisdom. All earthly things paled in 
his eyes before the ineffable beauty of this sight, and as it 
faded away a void was left in his heart which none but God 




could fill. Refusing the offer of a brilliant marriage, he fled 
secretly from his home at Venice, and joined the Canons 
Regular of St. George. One by one he crushed every natural 
instinct which could bar his union with his Love. When 
Laurence first entered religion, a nobleman went to dissuade 
him from the folly of thus sacrificing every earthly prospect. 
The young monk listened patiently in turn to his friend's 
affectionate appeal, scorn, and violent abuse. Calmly and 
kindly he then replied. He pointed out the shortness of life, 
the uncertainty of earthly happiness, and the incomparable 
superiority of the prize he sought to any his friend had 
named. The nobleman could make no answer; he felt in 



September 6.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



44I 



truth that Laurence was wise, himself the fool. He left the 
world, became a fellow-novice, with the Saint, and his holy 
death bore every mark that he too had secured the treasures 
which never fail. As superior and as general, Laurence 
enlarged and strengthened his Order, and as bishop of his 
diocese, in spite of slander and insult, thoroughly reformed 
his see. His zeal led to his being appointed the first patriarch 
of Venice, but he remained ever in heart and soul an humble 
priest thirsting for the sight of heaven. At length the eter- 
nal vision began to dawn. " Are you laying a bed of feathers 
for me? " he said. " Not so; my Lord was stretched on a 
hard and painful tree." Laid upon the straw, he exclaimed 
in rapture, " Good Jesus, behold I come." He died a.d. 
1435, aged seventy-four. 

Reflection. — Ask St. Laurence to vouchsafe you such a 
sense of the sufficiency of God that you too may fly to Him 
and be at rest. 



SEPTEMBER 6. — ST. ELEUTHERIUS, ABBOT. 

A wonderful simplicity and spirit of compunction were 
the distinguishing virtues of this holy man. He was chosen 
abbot of St. Mark's near Spoleto, and favored by God with 
the gift of miracles. A child who was possessed by the devil, 
being delivered by being educated in his monastery, the 
abbot said one day : " Since the child is among the servants 
of God, the devil dares not approach him." These words 
seemed to savor of vanity, and thereupon the devil again 
entered and tormented the child. The abbot humbly con- 
fessed his fault, and fasted and prayed with his whole com- 
munity till the child was again freed from the tyranny of the 
fiend. St. Gregory the Great, not being able to fast on 
Easter-eve on account of extreme weakness, engaged this 
Saint to go with him to the church of St. Andrew's and put 
up his prayers to God for his health, that he might join the 
faithful in that solemn practice of penance. Eleutherius 
prayed with many tears, and the Pope, coming out of the 



442 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 7 



church, found his breast suddenly strengthened, so that 
he was enabled to perform the fast as he desired. St. 
Eleutherius raised a dead man to life. Resigning his abbacy, 




he died in St. Andrew's monastery in Rome, about the year 

585- 

Reflection. — " Appear not to men to fast, but to thy 
Father who is in heaven, and thy Father, who seeth in secret, 
He will repay thee." 

SEPTEMBER 7.— ST. CLOUD, CONFESSOR. 

St. Cloud is the first and most illustrious Saint among 
the princes of the royal family of the first race in France. 
He was son of Chlodomir, King of Orleans, the eldest son 
of St. Clotilda, and was born 522. He was scarce three 
years old when his father was killed in Burgundy; but his 
grandmother Clotilda brought up him and his two brothers 
at Paris, and loved them extremely. Their ambitious 
uncles divided the kingdom of Orleans between them, and 



September 7.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



443 



stabbed with their own hands two of their nephews. Cloud, 
by a special providence, was saved from the massacre, and, 
renouncing the world, devoted himself to the service of God 
in a monastic state. After a time he put himself under the 
discipline of St. Severinus, a holy recluse who lived near 
Paris, from whose hands he received the monastic habit. 
Wishing to live unknown to the world, he withdrew secretly 
into Provence, but his hermitage being made public, he re- 




turned to Paris, and was received with the greatest joy 
imaginable. At the earnest request of the people, he was 
ordained priest by Eusebius, Bishop of Paris, in 551, and 
served that Church some time in the functions of the sacred 
ministry'. He afterward retired to St. Cloud, two leagues 
below. Paris, where he built a monastery. Here he assem- 
bled many pious men, who fled out of the world for fear of 
losing their souls in it. St. Cloud was regarded by them as 
their superior, and he animated them to all virtue both by 
word and example. He was indefatigable in instructing and 
exhorting the people of the neighboring country, and piously 
ended his days about the year 560. 



444 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 8. 



Reflection. — Let us remember that " the just shall live 
forevermore; they shall receive a kingdom of glory, and a 
crown of beauty at the hand of the Lord." 

SEPTEMBER 8. — THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced joy 
and the near approach of salvation to the lost world. Mary 
was brought forth in the world not like other children of 
Adam, infected with the loathsome contagion of sin, but 




pure, holy, beautiful, and glorious, adorned with all the most 
precious graces which became her who was chosen to be 
the Mother of God. She appeared indeed in the weak state 
of our mortality, but in the eyes of Heaven she already tran- 
scended the highest seraph in purity, brightness, and the 
richest ornaments of grace. If we celebrate the birthdays 
of the great ones of this earth, how ought we to rejoice in 
that of the Virgin Mary, presenting to God the best homage 
of our praises and thanksgiving for the great mercies He 
has shown in her, and imploring her mediation with her Sor 



September 8.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



445 



in our behalf! Christ will not reject the supplications of 
His mother, whom He was pleased to obey whilst on earth. 
Her love, care, and tenderness for Him, the title and quali- 
ties which she bears, the charity and graces with which she 
is adorned, and the crown of glory with which she is hon- 
ored, must incline Him readily to receive her recommenda- 
tions and petitions. 



THE FESTIVAL, ON THE SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE 
OF HER NATIVITY, OF THE HOLY NAME OF MARY. 

This festival was appointed by Pope Innocent XL, that 
on it the faithful may be called upon in a particular manner 
to recommend to God, through the intercession of the 




Blessed Virgin, the necessities of His Church, and to return 
Him thanks for His gracious protection and numberless 
mercies. What gave occasion to the institution of this 
feast was a solemn thanksgiving for the relief of Vienna 
when it was besieged by the Turks in 1683. If we desire 



446 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 9. 



to deprecate the divine anger, justly provoked by our sins, 
with our prayers, we must join the tears of sincere compunc- 
tion with a perfect conversion of our manners. The first 
grace we should always beg of God is that He will bring us 
to the disposition of condign penance. Our supplications 
for the divine mercies, and our thanksgivings for benefits 
received, will only thus be rendered acceptable. By no 
other means can we deserve the blessing of God, or be 
recommended to it by the patronage of His holy mother. 
To the invocation of Jesus it is a pious and wholesome prac- 
tice to join our application to the Blessed Virgin, that, 
through her intercession, we may more easily and more 
abundantly obtain the effects of our petitions. In this sense 
devout souls pronounce, with great affection and confidence, 
the holy names of Jesus and Mary. 



SEPTEMBER 9.— ST. OMER, BISHOP. 

St. Omer was born toward the close of the sixth century, 
in the territory of Constance. His parents, who were noble 
and wealthy, gave great attention to his education, but, 
above all, strove to inspire him with a love for virtue. Upon 
the death of his mother, he entered the monastery of Luxen, 
whither he persuaded his father to follow him, after having 
sold his worldly goods and distributed the proceeds among 
the poor. The father and son made their religious profession 
together. The humility, obedience, mildness, and devotion, 
together with the admirable purity of manners, which shone 
forth in every action of St. Omer, distinguished him among 
his saintly brethren, and he was soon called from his solitude 
to take charge of the government of the Church in Terou- 
enne. The greater part of those living in his diocese were 
still pagans, and even the few Christians were, through a 
scarcity of priests, fallen into a sad corruption of manners. 
The great and difficult work of their conversion was reserved 
for St. Omer. The holy Bishop applied himself to his task 
with such zeal that in a short time his diocese became one of 



September 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



447 



the most flourishing in France. In his old age, St. Omer 
became blind, but that affliction did not lessen his pastoral 




concern for his flock. He died in the odor of sanctity, while 
on a pastoral visit to Wavre, in 670. 



SAINT PETER CLAVER. 

Peter Claver was a Spanish Jesuit. In Majorca he fell 
in with the holy lay-brother Alphonsus Rodriguez, who, hav- 
ing already learned by revelation the saintly career of Peter, 
became his spiritual guide, foretold to him the labors he 
would undergo in the Indies, and the throne he would gain in 
heaven. Ordained priest in New Granada, Peter was sent 
to Cartagena, the great slave-mart of the West Indies, and 
there he consecrated himself by vow to the salvation of those 
ignorant and miserable creatures. For more than forty 
years he labored in this work. He called himself " the slave 
of the slaves." He was their apostle, father, physician, and 
friend. He fed them, nursed them with the utmost tender- 



448 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September io. 



ness in their loathsome diseases, often applying his own lips 
to their hideous sores. His cloak, which was the constant 
covering of the naked, though soiled with their filthy ulcers, 
sent forth a miraculous perfume. His rest after his great 
labors was in nights of penance and prayer. However tired 
he might be, when news arrived of a fresh slave-ship, Blessed 
Peter immediately revived, his eyes brightened, and he was 
at once on board amongst his dear slaves, bringing them 
comfort for body and soul. A false charge of reiterating 
baptism for a while stopped his work. He submitted with- 
out a murmur till the calumny was refuted, and then God so 
blessed his toil that 40,000 negroes were baptized before he 
went to his reward, in 1654. 

Reflection. — When you see any one standing in need of 
your assistance, either for body or soul, do not ask yourself 
why some one else did not help him, but think to yourself 
that you have found a treasure. 



SEPTEMBER 10.— ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO. 

Born in answer to the prayer of a holy mother, and 
vowed before his birth to the service 01 God, Nicholas never 
lost his baptismal innocence. His austerities were conspicu- 
ous even in the austere Order — the Hermits of St. Augus*- 
tine — to which he belonged, and to the remonstrances which 
were made by his superiors, he only replied, " How can I be 
said to fast, while every morning at the altar I receive my 
God? " He conceived an ardent charity for the Holy Souls, 
so near and yet so far from their Saviour; and often after his 
Mass, it was revealed to him that the souls for whom he had 
offered the Holy Sacrifice had been admitted to the presence 
of God. Amidst his loving labors for God and man, he was 
haunted by fear of his own sinfulness. " The heavens," said 
he, " are not pure in the sight of Him whom I serve ; how 
then shall I, a sinful man, stand before Him? " As he pon- 
dered on these things, Mary, the Queen of all Saints, 
appeared before him. " Fear not, Nicholas," she said, " all 



September il.j LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



449 



is well with you: my Son bears you in His Heart, and I am 
your protection." Then his soul was at rest; and he heard, 
we are told, the songs which the angels sing in the presence 
of their Lord. He died September ioth, 1310. 




Reflection. — Would you die the death of the just? there 
is only one way to secure the fulfilment of your wish. Live 
the life of the just. For it is impossible that one who has 
been faithful to God in life should make a bad or an unhappy 
end. 



SEPTEMBER 11.— ST. PAPHNUTIUS, BISHOP. 

The holy confessor Paphnutius was an Egyptian, and 
after having spent several years in the desert, under the direc- 
tion of the great St. Antony, was made bishop in Upper 
Thebais. He was one of those confessors who, under the 
tyrant Maximin Daia, lost their right eye, and were after- 
ward sent to work in the mines. Peace being restored to the 
Church, Paphnutius returned to his flock. The Arian heresy 



450 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September ii. 



being broached in Egypt, he was one of the most zealous in 
defending the Catholic faith, and for his eminent sanctity and 
the glorious title of confessor (or one who had confessed the 
faith before the persecutors and under torments) was highly 
considered in the great Council of Nice. Constantine the 
Great, during the celebration of that synod, sometimes con- 
ferred privately with him in his palace, and never dismissed 
him without kissing respectfully the place which had once 




held the eye he had lost for the faith. St Paphnutius 

remained always in a close union with St. Athanasius, and 
accompanied him to the Council of Tyre, in 335, where they 
found much the greater part of that assembly to be professed 
Arians. Seeing Maximus, Bishop of Jerusalem, among 
them, Paphnutius took him by the hand, led him out, and 
told him he could not see that any who bore the same marks 
as he in defence of the faith should be seduced and imposed 
upon by persons who were resolved to oppress the most 
strenuous assertor of its fundamental article. We have no 
particular ciccount of the death of St. Paphnutius; but his 
name stands in the Roman Martyrology on the nth of 
September, 



September 12.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



451 



Reflection. — If to fight for our country be glorious, " it 
is likewise great glory to follow the Lord," saith the Wise 
Man. 



SEPTEMBER 12.— ST. GUY, OF ANDERLECHT. 

As a child Guy had two loves, the Church and the poor. 
The love of prayer growing more and more, he left his poor 
home at Brussels to seek greater poverty and closer union 
with God. He arrived at Laeken, near Brussels, and there 




showed such devotion before Our Lady's shrine that tKe 
priest besought him to stay and serve the Church. Thence- 
forth, his great joy was to be always in the church, sweeping 
the floor and ceiling, polishing the altars, and cleansing the 
sacred vessels. By day he still found time and means to 
befriend the poor, so that his alms-giving became famous in 
all those parts. A merchant of Brussels, hearing of the gen- 
erosity of this poor sacristan, came to Laeken, and offered 
him a share in his business. Guy could not bear to leave 



452 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 13. 



the church; but the offer seemed providential, and he at 
last closed with it. Their ship, however, was lost on the 
first voyage, and on returning to Laeken, Guy found his 
place filled. The rest of his life was one long penance for 
his inconstancy. About the year 1033, finding his end at 
hand, he returned to Anderlecht, in his own country. As 
he died, a light shone round him, and a voice was heard pro 
claiming his eternal reward. 

Reflection. — Jesus was only nine months in the womb 
of Mary, three hours on the Cross, three days in the sepul- 
chre, but He is always in the tabernacle. Does our rever- 
ence before Him bear witness to this most blessed truth? 



SEPTEMBER 13.— ST. EULOGIUS, PATRIARCH OF 
ALEXANDRIA. 

St. Eulogius was a Syrian by birth, and while young 
embraced the monastic state in that country. The Euty- 
chian heresy had thrown the Churches of Syria and Egypt 
into much confusion, and a great part of the monks of Syria 
were at that time become remarkable for their loose morals 
and errors against faith. Eulogius learned from the fall of 
others to stand more watchfully and firmly upon his guard, 
and was not less distinguished by his innocence and sanctity 
of his manners than by the purity of his doctrine. Having, 
by an enlarged pursuit of learning, attained to a great vari- 
ety of useful knowledge in the different branches of litera- 
ture, he set himself to the study of divinity in the sacred 
sources of that science, which are the Holy Scriptures, the 
tradition of the Church as explained in its councils, and the 
approved writings of its eminent pastors. In the great dan- 
gers and necessities of the Church he was drawn out of his 
solitude, and made priest of Antioch by the patriarch St. 
Anastasius. Upon the death of John, the Patriarch of Alex- 
andria, St. Eulogius was raised to that patriarchal dignity 
toward the close of the year 583. About two years after his 
promotion, our Saint was obliged to make a journey to Con- 



September 13.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



453 



stantinople, in order to concert measures concerning certain 
affairs of his Church. He met at court St. Gregory the 
Great, and contracted with him a holy friendship, so that, 
from that time, they seemed to be one heart and one soul. 
Among the letters of St. Gregory, we have several extant 
which he wrote to our Saint. St. Eulogius composed many 




excellent works against different heresies, and died in the 
year 606. 

Reflection. — We admire the great actions and the glo- 
rious triumph of the Saints; yet it is not so much in these 
that their sanctity consisted, as in the constant habitual 
heroic disposition of their souls. There is no one who does 
not sometimes do good actions; but he can never be called 
virtuous who does well only by humor, or by fits and starts, 
not by steady habits. 



454 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 14. 



SEPTEMBER 14— THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS 
OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

Constantine was still wavering between Christianity 
and idolatry when a luminous cross appeared to him in the 
heavens, bearing the inscription, " In this sign shalt thou 
conquer." He became a Christian, and triumphed over his 
enemies, who were, at the same time, the enemies of the faith. 
A few years later, his saintly mother having found the cross 




on which Our Saviour suffered, the feast of the "Exalta- 
tion " was established in the Church; but it was only at a 
later period still, namely, after the Emperor Heraclius had 
achieved three great and wondrous victories over Chosroes, 
King of Persia, who had possessed himself of the holy and 
precious relic, that this festival took a more general exten- 
sion, and was invested with a higher character of solemnity. 
The feast of the " Finding " was thereupon instituted, in 
memory of the discovery made by St. Helena; and that of 
the " Exaltation " was reserved to celebrate the triumphs 



September 15.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



455 



of Heraclius. The greatest power of the Catholic world 
was at that time centred in the Empire of the East, and was 
verging toward its ruin, when God put forth His hand to 
save it: the re-establishment of the Cross at Jerusalem was 
the sure pledge thereof. This great event occurred in 629. 

Reflection. — Herein is found the accomplishment of 
the Saviour's word: " If I be lifted up from the earth, I will 
draw all things to myself." 



SEPTEMBER 15.— ST. CATHERINE OF GENOA. 



Noble in birth, rich, and exceedingly beautiful, Cath- 
erine had as a child rejected the solicitations of the world, 
and begged her Divine Master for some share in His suffer- 




ings. At sixteen years of age she found herself promised 
in marriage to a young nobleman of dissolute habits, who 
treated her with such harshness that, after five years, wearied 
out by his cruelty, she somewhat relaxed the strictness of 
her life and entered into the worldly society of Genoa. At 



456 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 16. 



length, enlightened by divine grace as to the danger of her 
state, she resolutely broke with the world and gave herself 
up to a life of rigorous penance and prayer. The charity 
with which she devoted herself to the service of the hos- 
pitals, undertaking the vilest of offices with joy, induced her 
husband to amend his evil ways and he died penitent. Her 
heroic fortitude was sustained by the constant thought of 
the Holy Souls, whose sufferings were revealed to her, and 
whose state she has described in a treatise full of heavenly 
wisdom. A long and grievous malady during the last.years 
of her life only served to perfect her union with God, till, 
worn out in body and purified in soul, she breathed her last 
on September 14th, 15 10. 

Reflection. — The constant thought of purgatory will 
help us not only to escape its dreadful pains, but also to avoid 
the least imperfection which hinders our approach to God. 



SEPTEMBER 16.— ST. CYPRIAN, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

Cyprian was an African of noble birth but of evil life, a 
pagan, and a teacher of rhetoric. In middle life he was con- 
verted to Christianity, and shortly after his baptism was 
ordained priest, and made Bishop of Carthage, notwithstand- 
ing his resistance. When the persecution of Decius broke 
out, he fled from his episcopal city, that he might be the 
better able to minister to the wants of his flock, but returned 
on occasion of a pestilence. Later on he was banished, and 
saw in a vision his future martyrdom. Being recalled from 
exile, sentence of death was pronounced against him, which 
he received with the words " Thanks be to God." His great 
desire was to die whilst in the act of preaching the faith of 
Christ, and he had the consolation of being surrounded at his 
martyrdom by crowds of his faithful children. He was 
beheaded on the 14th September, a.d. 258, and was buried 
with great solemnity. Even the pagans respected his 
memory. 



September 17.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 457 

Reflection. — The duty of alms-giving is declared both 
by nature and revelation: by nature, because it flows from 
the principle imprinted within us of doing to others as we 




would they should do to us; by revelation, in many special 
commands of Scripture, and in the precept of divine charity 
which binds us to love God for His own sake, and our neigh- 
bor for the sake of God. 



SEPTEMBER 17. -ST. LAMBERT, BISHOP, MARTYR. 

St. Lambert was a native of Maestricht. His father 
entrusted his education to the holy Bishop St. Theodard, and 
on that good man being assassinated, Lambert was chosen 
his successor. A revolution breaking out which overturned 
the kingdom of Austrasia, our Saint was banished from his 
see on account of his devotion to his sovereign. He retired 
to the monastery of Stavelo, and there obeyed the rule as 
strictly as the youngest novice could have done. One 
instance will suffice to show with how perfect a sacrifice of 



458 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 17, 



himself he devoted his heart to serve God. As he was rising 
one night in winter to his private devotions, he happened to 
let fall his wooden sandal or slipper. The abbot, without 
asking who had caused the noise, gave orders that the offen- 
der should go and pray before the cross, which stood before 
the church door. Lambert, without making any answer, 
went out as he was, barefoot, and covered only with his hair 
shirt; and in this condition he prayed, kneeling before the 




cross, where he was found some hours after. At the sight of 
the holy bishop the abbot and the monks fell on the ground 
and asked his pardon. " God forgive you," said he, " for 
thinking you stand in need of pardon for this action. As for 
myself, is it not in cold and nakedness that, according to St. 
Paul, I am to tame my flesh and to serve God? " While St. 
Lambert enjoyed the quiet of holy retirement, he wept to see 
the greatest part of the churches of France laid waste. In 
the mean time the political clouds began to break away, and 
Lambert was restored to his see, but his zeal in suppressing 
the many and notorious disorders which existed in his 
diocese led to his assassination on the 17th of September, 
709, 



September 18.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



459 



Reflection. — How noble and heroic is this virtue of for- 
titude! how necessary for every Christian, especially for a 
pastor of souls, that neither worldly views nor fears may ever 
in the least warp his integrity or blind his judgment! 



SEPTEMBER 18.— ST. THOMAS OF VILLANOVA. 

St. Thomas, the glory of the Spanish Church in the six- 
teenth century, was born a.d. 1488. A thirst for the science 
of the Saints led him to enter the house of the Austin Friars 
at Salamanca. Charles V. listened to him as an oracle, and 




appointed him Archbishop of Valencia. On being led to his 
throne in church, he pushed the silken cushions aside, and 
with tears kissed the ground. His first visit was to the 
prison ; the sum with which the chapter presented him for his 
palace was devoted to the public hospital. As a child he had 
given his meal to the poor, and two thirds of his episcopal 
revenues were now annually spent in alms. He daily fed five 
hundred needy persons, brought up himself the orphans of 
the city, and sheltered the neglected foundling with a 



460 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 19. 



mother's care. During his eleven years' episcopate not one 
poor maiden was married without an alms from the Saint. 
Spurred by his example, the rich and the selfish became 
liberal and generous; and when, on the Nativity of Our Lady, 
a.d. 1555, St. Thomas came to die, he was well-nigh the only 
poor man in his see. 

Reflection. — " Answer me, O sinner! " St. Thomas 
would say, " what can you purchase with your money better 
or more necessary than the redemption of your sins? " 

SEPTEMBER 19.— ST. JANUARIUS, MARTYR. 



Many centuries ago, St. Januarius died for the faith in 
the persecution of Diocletian, and to this day God confirms 
the faith of His Church, and works a continual miracle, 




through the blood which Januarius shed for Him. The Saint 

was Bishop of Beneventum, and on one occasion he travelled 
to Misenum in order to visit a deacon named Sosius. During 
this visit Januarius saw the head 01 Sosius, who was singing 



September 20.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



the Gospel in the church, girt with flames, and took this for a 
sign that ere long Sosius would wear the crown of martyr- 
dom. So it proved. Shortly after Sosius was arrested, and 
thrown into prison. There St. Januarius visited and encour- 
aged him, till the bishop also was arrested in turn. Soon the 
number of the confessors was swollen by some of the neigh- 
boring clergy. They were exposed to the wild beasts in the 
amphitheatre. The beasts, however, did them no harm; and 
at last the Governor of Campania ordered the Saints to be 
beheaded. Little did the heathen governor think that he war 
the instrument in God's hand of ushering in the long succes- 
sion of miracles which attest the faith of Januarius. The 
relics of St. Januarius rest in the cathedral of Naples, and it is 
there that the liquefaction of his blood occurs. The blood 
is congealed in two glass vials, but when it is brought near 
the martyr's head it melts and flows like the blood of a living 
man. 

Reflection. — Thank God who has given you superabun- 
dant motives for your faith ; and pray for the spirit of the first 
Christians, the spirit which exults, and rejoices in belief. 

SEPTEMBER 20.— SS. EUSTACHIUS AND COMPANIONS, 

MARTYRS. 

Eustachius, called Placidus before his conversion, was a 
distinguished officer of the Roman army under the Emperor 
Trajan. One day, whilst hunting a deer, he suddenly per- 
ceived between the horns of the animal the image of our 
crucified Saviour. Responsive to what he considered a voice 
from heaven, he lost not a moment in becoming a Christian. 
In a short time he lost all his possessions and his position, 
and his wife and children were taken from him. Reduced to 
the most abject poverty, he took service with a rich land- 
owner to tend his fields. In the mean time the empire suf- 
fered greatly from the ravages of barbarians. Trajan sought 
out our Saint, and placed him in command of the troops sent 
against the enemy. During this campaign he found his wife 
and children, whom he despaired of ever seeing again. 



462 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 20. 



Returning home victorious, he was received in triumph and 
loaded with honors; but the emperor having commanded him 
to sacrifice to the false gods he refused. Infuriated at this, 
Trajan ordered Eustachius with his wife and children to be 
exposed to two starved lions; but instead of harming these 
faithful servants of God, the beasts merely frisked and 




frolicked about them. The emperor, grown more furious at 
this, caused the martyrs to be shut up inside a brazen bull, 
under which a fire was kindled, and in this horrible manner 
they were roasted to death. 

Reflection. — It is not enough to encounter dangers 
with resolution ; we must with equal courage and constancy 
vanquish pleasure and softer passions, or we possess not the 
virtue of true fortitude. 



September 21.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



463 



SEPTEMBER 21.— ST. MATTHEW, APOSTLE. 

One day, as our Lord was walking by the Sea of Galilee, 
He saw, sitting at the receipt of custom, Matthew the pub- 
lican, whose business it was to collect the taxes from the 
people for their Roman masters. Jesus said to him, " Follow 
Me;" and leaving all, Matthew arose and followed Him. 
Now the publicans were abhorred by the Jews as enemies of 




their country, outcasts, and notorious sinners, who enriched 
themselves by extortion and fraud. No Pharisee would sit 1 
with one at table. Our Saviour alone had compassion for 
them. So St. Matthew made a great feast, to which he 
invited Jesus and His disciples, with a number of these pub- 
licans, who henceforth began eagerly to listen to Him. It 
was then, in answer to the murmurs of the Pharisees, that 
He said, " They that are in health need not the physician. I 
have not come to call the just, but sinners to penance." 
After the Ascension, St. Matthew remained some years in 
Judaea, and there wrote his Gospel, to teach his countrymen 



464 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 22. 



that Jesus was their true Lord and King, foretold by the 
Prophets. St. Matthew afterward preached the faith far and 
wide, and is said to have finished his course in Parthia. 

Reflection. — Obey all inspirations of Our Lord as 
promptly as St. Matthew, who, at a single word, " laid down," 
says St. Bridget, " the heavy burden of the world to put on 
the light and sweet yoke of Christ." 



SEPTEMBER 22.— THE THEBAN LEGION. 

The Theban legion numbered more than six thousand 
men. They marched from the East into Gaul, and proved 
their loyalty at once to their Emperor and their God. They 
were encamped near the Lake of Geneva, under the Emperor 




Maximian, when they got orders to turn their swords against 
the Christian population, and refused to obey. In his fury, 
Maximian ordered them to be decimated. The order was 
executed once and again, but they endured this without a 
murmur or an effort to defend themselves. St. Maurice, the 



September 23.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



465 



chief captain in this legion of martyrs, encouraged the rest to 
persevere and follow their comrades to heaven. " Know, O 
Emperor," he said, " that we are your soldiers, but we are 
servants also of the true God. In all things lawful we will 
most readily obey, but we cannot stain our hands in this 
innocent blood. We have seen our comrades slain and we 
rejoice at their honor. We have arms, but we resist not, for 
we had rather die without shame than live by sin." As the 
massacre began, these generous soldiers flung down their 
arms, offered their necks to the sword, and suffered them- 
selves to be butchered in silence. 

Reflection. — Thank God for every slight and injury 
you have to bear. An injury borne in meekness and silence 
is a true victory. It is the proof that we are good soldiers 
of Jesus Christ, disciples of that heavenly wisdom which is 
first pure, then peaceable. 



SEPTEMBER 23, — ST. THECLA, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

St. Thecla is one of the most ancient, as she is one of 
foe most illustrious, Saints in the calendar of the Church. 
It was at Iconium that St. Paul met St. Thecla, and kindled 
the love of virginity in her heart. She had been promised 
in marriage to a young man who was rich and generous. 
But at the Apostle's words she died to the thought of earthly 
espousals; she forgot her beauty; she was deaf to her par- 
ents' threats, and at the first opportunity she fled from a 
luxurious home and followed St. Paul. The rage of her 
parents and of her intended spouse followed hard upon her; 
and the Roman power did its worst against the virgin whom 
Christ had chosen for His own. She was stripped and 
placed in the public theatre; but her innocence shrouded 
her like a garment. Then the lions were let loose against 
her; they fell crouching at her feet, and licked them as if in 
veneration. Even fire could not harm her. Torment after 
torment was inflicted upon her without effect, till at last her 
Spouse spoke the word and called her to Himself, with the 
double crown of virginity and martyrdom on her head. 



4-66 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 24, 




Reflection. — It is purity in soul and body which will 
make you strong in pain, in temptation, and in the hour of 
death. Imitate the purity of this glorious virgin, and take 
her for your special patroness in your last agony. 



SEPTEMBER 24.— THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF MERCY. 

St. Peter, of the noble family of Nolasco, was born in 
Languedoc, about 1189. At the age of twenty-five he took 
a vow of chastity, and made over his vast estates to the 
Church. Some time after, he conceived the idea of estab- 
lishing an order for the redemption of captives. The divine 
will was soon manifested. The Blessed Virgin appeared on 
the same night to Peter, to Raymund of Pennafort, his con- 
fessor, and to James, King of Arragon, his ward, and bade 
them prosecute without fear their holy designs. After great 
opposition the Order was solemnly established, and ap- 
proved by Gregory IX., under the name of Our Lady of 
Mercy. By the grace of God, and under the protection of 
His Virgin-Mother, the Order spread rapidly, its growth 



September 24.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



467 



being increased by the charity and piety of its members, who 
devoted themselves not only to collecting alms for the ran- 
som of the Christians, but even gave themselves up to vol- 
untary slavery to aid the good work. It is to return thanks 
to God and the Blessed Virgin that a feast was instituted 
which was observed in the Order of Mercy, then in Spain 




and France, and at last extended to the whole Church by 
Innocent XII., and the 24th September named as the day 
on which it is to be observed. 

Reflection. — St. Peter Nolasco and his knights were 
laymen, not priests, and yet they considered the salvation 
of their neighbor entrusted to them. We can each of us by 
counsel, by prayer, but above all by holy example, assist the 
salvation of our brethren, and thus secure our own. 



468 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 25, 



SEPTEMBER 25.— ST. FIRMIN, BISHOP, MARTYR.— 
ST. FINBARR, BISHOP. 

St. Firmin was a native of Pampelone, in Navarre, initi- 
ated in the Christian faith by Honestus, a disciple of St. 
Saturninus of Toulouse, and consecrated Bishop of St. Hon- 
oratus, successor to St. Saturninus, in order to preach the 




Gospel in the remoter parts of Gaul. He preached the faith 
in the countries of Agen, Anjou, and Beauvais, and being 
arrived at Amiens, there chose his residence, and founded 
there a numerous Church of faithful disciples. He received 
the crown of martyrdom in that city, whether under the pre- 
fect, Rictius Varus, or in some other persecution from 
Decius, in 250, to Diocletian, in 303, is uncertain. 

St. Finbarr, who lived in the sixth century, was a native 
of Connaught, and instituted a monastery or school at 
Lough Eire, to which such numbers of disciples flocked, as 
changed, as it were, a desert into a large city. This was 
the origin of the city of Cork, which was built chiefly upon 



September 26.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



469 



stakes, in marshy little islands formed by the river Lea. The 
right name of our Saint, under which he was baptized, was 
Lochan; the surname Finbarr, or Barr the White, was after- 
ward given him. He was Bishop of Cork seventeen years, 
and died in the midst of his friends at Cloyne, fifteen miles 
from Cork. His body was buried in his own cathedral at 
Cork, and his relics, some years after, were put in a silver 
shrine, and kept there, this great church bearing his name 
to this day. St. Finbarr's cave or hermitage was shown in 
a monastery which seems to have been begun by our Saint, 
and stood to the west of Cork. 



SEPTEMBER 26.— SS. CYPRIAN AND JUSTINA, MARTYRS. 



The detestable superstition of St. Cyprian's idolatrous 
parents devoted him from his infancy to the devil, and he 
was brought up in all the impious mysteries of idolatry, as- 




trology, and the black art. When Cyprian had learned all 
the extravagances of these schools of error and delusion, he 
hesitated at no crimes, blasphemed Christ, and committed 



47o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[September 27. 



secret murders. There lived at Antioch a young- Christian 
lady called Justina, of high birth and great beauty. A pagan 
nobleman fell deeply in love with her, and finding her mod- 
esty inaccessible, and her resolution invincible, he applied 
to Cyprian for assistance. Cyprian, no less smitten with the 
lady, tried every secret with which he was acquainted to con- 
quer her resolution. Justina, perceiving herself vigorously 
attacked, studied to arm herself by prayer, watchfulness, and 
mortification against all his artifices and the power of his 
spells. Cyprian, finding himself worsted by a superior power, 
began to consider the weakness of the infernal spirits, and re- 
solved to quit their service and become a Christian. Agladius, 
who had been the first suitor to the Holy virgin, was like- 
wise converted and baptized. The persecution of Diocle- 
tian breaking out, Cyprian and Justina were seized, and pre- 
sented to the same judge. She was inhumanly scourged, 
and Cyprian was torn with iron hooks. After this they were 
both sent in chains to Diocletian, who commanded their 
heads to be struck off, which sentence was executed. 

Reflection. — If the errors and disorders of St. Cyprian 
show the degeneracy of human nature corrupted by sin, and 
enslaved to vice, his conversion displays the power of grace 
and virtue to repair it. Let us beg of God to send us grace 
to resist temptation, and to do His holy will in all things. 



SEPTEMBER 27.— SS. COSMAS AND D AMI AN, MARTYRS. 

Saints Cosmas and Damian were brothers, and born in 
Arabia, but studied the sciences in Syria, and became emi- 
nent for their skill in physic. Being Christians, and full of 
that holy temper of charity in which the spirit of our divine 
religion consists, they practised their profession with great 
application and wonderful success, but never took any fee. 
They were loved and respected by the people on account of 
the good offices received from their charity, and for their zeal 
for the Christian faith, which they took every opportunity to 
propagate. When the persecution of Diocletian began to 



September 28.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



47 < 



rage, it was impossible for persons of so distinguished a char- 
acter to lie concealed. They were therefore apprehended 
by the order of Lysias, Governor of Cilicia, and after various 
torments were bound hand and foot and thrown into the sea. 




Reflection. — We may sanctify our labor or industry, if 
actuated by the motive of charity toward others, even whilst 
we fulfil the obligation we owe to ourselves and our families 
of procuring ( an honest and necessary subsistence, which 
of itself is no less noble a virtue, if founded in motives equally 
pure and perfect. 



SEPTEMBER 28.— ST. WENCESLAS, MARTYR. 

Wenceslas was the son of a Christian Duke of Bohemia, 
but his mother was a hard and cruel pagan. Through the 
care of his holy grandmother, Ludmilla, herself a martyr, 
Wenceslas was educated in the true faith, and imbibed a 
special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. On the death of 
his father, his mother, Drahomira, usurped the government 



472 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 28. 



and passed a series of persecuting laws. In the interests of 
the faith, Wenceslas claimed and obtained, through the sup- 
port of the people, a large portion of the country as his own 
kingdom. His mother secured the apostasy and alliance of 
her second son, Boleslas, who became henceforth her ally 
against the Christians. Wenceslas meanwhile ruled as a 
brave and pious king, provided for all the needs of his people, 
and when his kingdom was attacked, overcame in single 




combat, by the sign of the Cross, the leader of an invading 
army. In the service of God he was most constant, and 
planted with his own hands the wheat and grapes for the 
Holy Mass, at which he never failed daily to assist. His 
piety was the occasion of his death. Once, after a banquet 
at his brother's palace, to which he had been treacherously 
invited, he went, as was his wont at night, to pray before the 
tabernacle. There, at midnight on the feast of the Angels, 
a.d. 938, he received his crown of martyrdom, his brother 
dealing him the death-blow. 



September 29.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



473 



Reflection. — St. Wenceslas teaches us that the safest 
place to meet the trials of life, or to prepare for the storke 
of death, is before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. 



SEPTEMBER 29.— ST. MICHAEL, ARCHANGEL. 

" Mi-ca-el," or " Who is like to God? " Such was the cry 
of the great Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in 
the conflict of the heavenly hosts, and from that hour he has 
been known as " Michael," the captain of the armies of God, 




the type of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful 
soul in strife with the powers of evil. Thus he appears in 
Holy Scripture as the guardian of the children of Israel, their 
comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. He it 
is who prepares for their return from the Persian captivity, 
who leads the valiant Maccabees to victory, and who rescues 
the body of Moses from the envious grasp of the Evil One. 
And since Christ's coming the Church has ever venerated St. 
Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes 



474 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [September 30. 



him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the 
side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as 
their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the 
realms of holy light. Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set 
up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once 
more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trump, and 
binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them 
for all eternity into the burning pool. 

Reflection. — " Whenever," says St. Bernard, " any 
grievous temptation or vehement sorrow oppresses thee, 
invoke thy guardian, thy leader; cry out to Him, and say, 
' Lord, save us, lest we perish! ' " 



SEPTEMBER 30.— ST. JEROME, DOCTOR. 



St. Jerome, born in Dalmatia, a.d. 329, was sent to 
school at Rome. His boyhood was not free from fault. His 




thirst for knowledge was excessive, and his love of books a 
passion. He had studied under the best masters, visited 



October i.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



475 



foreign cities, and devoted himself to the pursuit of science. 
But Christ had need of his strong will and active intellect 
for the service of His Church. St. Jerome felt and obeyed 
the call, made a vow of celibacy, fled from Rome to the wild 
Syrian desert, and there for four years learnt in solitude, 
penance, and prayer a new lesson of divine wisdom. This 
was his novitiate. The Pope soon summoned him to Rome, 
and there put upon the now famous Hebrew scholar the task 
of revising the Latin Bible, which was to be his noblest work. 
Retiring thence to his beloved Bethlehem, the eloquent her- 
mit poured forth from his solitary cell for thirty years a 
stream of luminous writings upon the Christian world. 

Reflection. — " To know," says St. Basil, " how to sub- 
mit thyself with thy whole soul, is to know how to imitate 
Christ." 



OCTOBER i.— ST. REMIGIUS, BISHOP. 

Remigius, or Remi, was born of noble and pious par- 
ents. At the age of twenty-two, in spite of the canons and 
of his own reluctance, he was acclaimed Archbishop of 
Rheims. He was unusually tall, his face impressed with 
blended majesty and serenity, his bearing gentle, humble, 
and retiring. He was learned and eloquent, and had the 
gift of miracles. His pity and charity were boundless, and 
in toil he knew no weariness. His body was the outward 
expression of a noble and holy soul, breathing the spirit of 
meekness and compunction. For so choice a workman God 
had fitting work. The South of France was in the hands of 
Arians, and the pagan Franks were wresting the North from 
the Romans. St. Remigius confronted Clovis, their king, 
and converted and baptized him at Christmas, a.d. 496. 
With him he gained the whole Frank nation. He threw 
down the idol altars, built churches, and appointed bishops. 
He withstood and silenced the Arians, and converted so 
many that he left France a Catholic kingdom, its king the 
oldest and at the time the only crowned son of the Church. 



476 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 2. 



He died a.d. 533, after an episcopate of seventy-four years, 
the longest on record. 




Reflection. — Few men have had such natural advan- 
tages and such gifts of grace as St. Remi, and few have done 
SO' great a work. Learn from him to bear the world's praise 
as well as its scorn with a lowly and chastened heart. 



OCTOBER 2.— THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS. 

God does not abandon to mere chance any of His handi- 
works; by His providence He is everywhere present; not a 
hair falls from the head or a sparrow to the ground without 
His knowledge. Not content, however, with yielding such 
familiar help in all things, not content with affording that 
existence which He communicates and perpetuates through 
every living being, He has charged His angels with the min- 
istry of watching and safeguarding every one of His creatures 
that behold not His face. Kingdoms have their angels as- 



October 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



477 



signed to them, and men have their angels; these latter it 
is whom religion designates as the Holy Guardian Angels. 
Our Lord says in the Gospel, " Beware lest ye scandalize 
any of these little ones, for their angels in heaven see the 
face of my Father." The existence of Guardian Angels is, 
hence, a dogma of the Christian faith: this being so, what 




ought not our respect be for that sure and holy intelligence 
that is ever present at our side; and how great should our 
solicitude be, lest, by any act of ours, we offend those eyes 
which are ever bent upon us in all our ways! 

Reflection. — Ah! let us not give occasion, in the lan- 
guage of Holy Scripture, to the angels of peace to weep 
bitterly. 



4/8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 3 



OCTOBER 3. — ST. GERARD, ABBOT. 

St. Gerard was of a noble family of the county of 
Namur, France. An engaging sweetness of temper, and a 
strong inclination to piety and devotion, gained him from 
the cradle the esteem and affection of every one. Having 




been sent on an important mission to the Court of France, 
he was greatly edified at the fervor of the monks of St. Denis, 
at Paris, and earnestly desired to consecrate himself to God 
with them. Returning home he settled his temporal affairs, 
and went back with great joy to St. Denis's. He had lived 
ten years with great fervor in this monastery, when in 931 
he was sent by his abbot to found an abbey upon his estate 
at Brogne, three leagues from Namur. He settled this new 
abbey, and then built himself a little cell near the church, 
and lived in it a recluse until God called him to undertake 
the reformation of many monasteries, which he did success- 
fully. When he had spent almost twenty years in these zeal- 



October 4.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



479 



ous labors, he shut himself up in his cell, to prepare his soul 
to receive the recompense of his labors, to which he was 
called on the 3d of October in 959. 

Reflection. — Though we are in the world, let us strive 
to separate ourselves from it and consecrate ourselves to 
God, remembering that " the world passeth away, but he that 
doth the will of God abideth forever." 



OCTOBER 4,— ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. 

St. Francis, the son of a merchant of Assisi, was born in 
that city a.d. i 182. Chosen by God to be a living manifesta- 
tion to the world of Christ's poor and suffering life on earth, 
he was early inspired with a high esteem and burning love of 




poverty and humiliation. The thought of the Man of Sor- 
rows, who had not where to lay His head, filled him with holy 
envy of the poor, and constrained him to renounce the wealth 
and worldly station which he abhorred. The scorn and hard 



480 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 5. 



usage which he met with from his father and townsmen when 
he appeared among them in the garb of poverty were 
delightful to him. " Now/' he exclaimed, " I can say truly. 
' Our Father who art in heaven.' " But divine love burned 
in him too mightily not to kindle like desires in other hearts. 
Many joined themselves to him, and were constituted by 
Pope Innocent III. into a religious Order, which spread 
rapidly throughout Christendom. St. Francis, after visiting 
the East in the vain quest of martyrdom, spent his life like his 
Divine Master — now in preaching to the multitudes, now 
amid desert solitudes in fasting and contemplation. During 
one of these retreats he received on his hands, feet, and side 
the print of the five bleeding wounds of Jesus. With the cry 
" Welcome, sister Death," he passed to the glory of his God 
October 4th, 1226. 

Reflection. — " My God and my all," St. Francis's con- 
stant prayer, explains both his poverty and his wealth. 



OCTOBER 5,— ST. PLACID, MARTYR. 

St. Placid was born in Rome, in the year 515, of a 
patrician family, and at seven years of age was taken by his 
father to the monastery of Subiaco. At thirteen years of 
age he followed St. Bernard to the new foundation at Monte 
Cassino, where he grew up in the practice of a wonderful 
austerity and innocence of life. He had scarcely completed 
his twenty-first year when he was selected to establish a 
monastery in Sicily upon some estates which had been given 
by his father to St. Benedict. He spent four years in build- 
ing his monastery, and the fifth had not elapsed before an 
inroad of barbarians burned every thing to the ground, and 
put to a lingering death not only St. Placid and thirty monks 
who had joined him, but also his two brothers, Eutychius and 
Victorinus, and his holy sister Flavia, who had come to visit 
him. The monastery was rebuilt, and still stands under his 
invocation. 



October 6.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 48 1 




Reflection. — Adversity is the touchstone of the soul, 
because it discovers the character of the virtue which it pos- 
sesses. One act of thanksgiving when matters go wrong 
with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agree- 
able to our inclinations. 



OCTOBER v,.— ST. BRUNO- 

Bruno was born at Cologne, about a.d. 1030; of an illus- 
trious family. He w T as endowed with rare natural gifts, 
whicn he cultivated with care at Paris. He became canon of 
Cologne, and then of Rheims, where he had the direction of 
theological studies. On the death of the bishop the see fell 
for a time into evil hands, and Bruno retired with a few 
friends into the country. There he resolved to forsake the 
world, and live a life of retirement and penance. With six 
companions he applied to Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, who 
led them into a wild solitude called the Chartreuse. There 
they lived in poverty, self-denial, and silence, each apart in 



482 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 6. 



his own cell, meeting only for the worship of God, and 
employing themselves in copying books. From the name of 
the spot the Order of St. Bruno was called the Carthusian. 
Six years later, Urban II. called Bruno to Rome, that he 
might avail himself of his guidance. Bruno tried to live 
there as he had lived in the desert; but the echoes of the 
great city disturbed his solitude, and, after refusing high 




dignities, he wrung from the Pope permission to resume his 
monastic life in Calabria. There he lived, in humility and 
mortification and great peace, till his blessed death in 1 101. 

Reflection. — " O everlasting kingdom," said St. Au- 
gustine; " kingdom of endless ages, whereon rests the 
untroubled light and the peace of God which passeth all 
understanding, where the souls of the Saints are in rest, and 
everlasting joy is on their heads, and sorrow and sighing 
have fled away! When shall I come and appear before 
God?" 



October 7.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



483 



OCTOBER 7 ST. MARK, POPE. 

St. Mark was by birth a Roman, and served God with 
such fervor among the clergy of that Church, that, advancing 
continually in sincere humility and the knowledge and sense 
of his own weakness and imperfections, he strove every day 
to surpass himself in the fervor of his charity and zeal, and 
in the exercise of all virtues. The persecution ceased in the 




West, in the beginning of the year 305 ; but was revived a 
short time after by Maxentius. St. Mark abated nothing of 
his watchfulness, but endeavored rather to redouble his zeal 
during the peace of the Church ; knowing that if men some- 
times cease openly to persecute the faithful, the devil never 
allows them any truce, and his snares are generally most to 
be feared in the time of the calm. St. Mark succeeded St. 
Sylvester in the apostolic chair on the 18th of January, 336. 
He held that dignity only eight months and twenty days, 
dying on the 7th of October following. He was buried in a 



4 8 4 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 8. 



cemetery in the Ardeatine Way, which has since borne his 
name. 

Reflection. — A Christian ought to be afraid of no 
enemy more than himself, whom he carries always about 
with him, and from whom he is not able to flee. He should 
therefore never cease to cry out to God, " Unless Thou, O 
Lord, art my light and support, I watch in vain." 



OCTOBER 8,— ST. BRIDGET OP SWEDEN. 

Bridget was born of the Swedish royal family, a.d. 1304. 
In obedience to her father, she was married to Prince 
Ulpho of Sweden, and became the mother of eight children, 
one of whom, Catherine, is honored as a Saint. After some 




years, she and her husband separated by mutual consent. 
He entered the Cistercian Order, and Bridget founded the 
Order of St. Saviour, in the Abbey of Wastein, in Sweden. 
In 1344 she became a widow, and thenceforth received a 



October 9.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



485 



series of the most sublime revelations, all of which she scru- 
pulously submitted to the judgment of her confessor. By 
the command of Our Lord, Bridget went on a pilgrimage 
to the Holy Land, and amidst the very scenes of the Passion 
was further instructed in the sacred mysteries. She died 
a.d. 1373. 

Reflection. — " Is confession a matter of much time or 
expense? " asks St. John Chrysostom. " Is it a difficult and 
painful remedy? Without cost or hurt, the medicine is ever 
ready to restore you to perfect health." 



OCTOBER 9. — ST. DIONYSIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS, 
MARTYRS.— ST. LOUIS BERTRAND. 

Of all the Roman missionaries sent into Gaul, St. Diony- 
sius carried the faith the furthest into the country, fixing his 




see at Paris, and by him and his disciples the sees of Chartrea, 
Senlis, Meaux, and Cologne were erected in the fourth cen- 



486 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October io. 



tury. During the persecution of Valerian he was arrested 
and thrown into prison, and after remaining there for some 
time was beheaded, together with St. Rusticus, a priest, and 
Eleutherius, a deacon. 

St. Louis Bertrand was born at Valencia, in Spain, 
a.d. 1526, of the same family as St. Vincent Ferrer. In 
1545, after severe trials, he was professed in the Dominican 
Order, and at the age of twenty-five was made master of 
novices, and trained up many great servants of God. When 
the plague broke out in Valencia he devoted himself to the 
sick and dying, and with his own hands buried the dead. In 
1 562 he obtained leave to embark for the American mission, 
and there converted vast multitudes to the faith. He was 
favored with the gift of miracles, and while preaching in his 
native Spanish, was understood in various languages. After 
seven years he returned to Spain, to plead the cause of the 
oppressed Indians, but he was not permitted to return and 
labor among them. He spent his remaining days toiling in 
his own country, till at length, in 1580, he was carried from 
the pulpit in the Cathedral at Valencia to the bed from 
whence he never rose. He died on the day he had fore- 
told — October 9th, 1581. 

Reflection. — The Saints fasted, toiled, and wept, not 
only for love of God, but for fear of damnation. How shall 
we, with our self-indulgent lives and unexamined con- 
sciences, face the judgment-seat of Christ? 



OCTOBER 10.— ST. FRANCIS BORGIA. 

Francis Borgia, Duke of Gandia and Captain-General 
of Catalonia, was one of the handsomest, richest, and most 
honored nobles in Spain, when, in 1539, there was laid upon 
him the sad duty of escorting the remains of his sovereign, 
Queen Isabella, to the royal burying-place at Granada. The 
coffin had to be opened for him that he might verify the 
body before it was placed in the tomb, and so foul a sight 



October io.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



487 



met his eyes that he vowed never again to serve a sovereign 
who could suffer so base a change. It was some years be- 
before he could follow the call of his Lord; at length he 
entered the Society of Jesus to cut himself off from any 
chance of dignity or preferment. But his Order chose him 
to be its head. The Turks were threatening Christendom, 
and St. Pius V. sent his nephew to gather Christian princes 
into a league for its defence. The holy Pope chose Francis 




to accompany him, and, worn out though he was, the Saint 
obeyed at once. The fatigues of the embassy exhausted 
what little life was left. St. Francis died on his return to 
Rome, October 10th, 1572. 

Reflection. — St. Francis Borgia learnt the worthless- 
ness of earthly greatness at the funeral of Queen Isabella. 
Do the deaths of friends teach us aught about ourselves? 



488 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 14. 



OCTOBER 11 ST. TARACHUS AND HIS COMPANIONS. 

In the year 304, Tarachus, Probus, and Andronicus, 
differing in age and nationality, but united in the bonds of 
faith, being denounced as Christians to Numerian, Governor 
of Cilicia, were arrested at Pompeiopolis, and conducted to 
Tharsis. They underwent a first examination in that town, 
after which their limbs were torn with iron hooks, and they 




were taken back to prison covered with wounds. Being 
afterwards led to Mopsuesta, they were submitted to a sec- 
ond examination, ending in a manner equally cruel as the 
first. They underwent a third examination at Anazarbis, 
followed by greater torments still. The governor, unable 
to shake their constancy, had them kept imprisoned that he 
might torture them further at the approaching games. They 
were borne to the amphitheatre, but the most ferocious ani- 
mals, on being let loose on them, came crouching to their 
feet and licked their wounds. The judge, reproaching the 



October 12.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



489 



jailers with connivance, ordered the martyrs to be despatched 
by the gladiators. 

Reflection. — Such is true Christian devotion. " Neither 
death nor life shall be able to separate us from the love that 
is in Christ Jesus." 



OCTOBER 12 ST. WILFRID, BISHOP. 

" A quick walker, expert at all good works, with never a 
sour face " — such was the great St. Wilfrid, whose glory it 
was to secure the happy links which bound England to 
Rome. He was born about the year 634, and was trained by 




the Celtic monks at Lindisfarne in the peculiar rites and 
usages of the British Church. Yet even as a boy Wilfric 
longed for perfect conformity in discipline, as in doctrine, 
with the Holy See, and at the first chance set off himself for 
Rome. On his return, he founded at Ripon a strictly Roman 



490 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 13. 



monastery, under the rule of St. Benedict. In the year 664 
he was elected Bishop of Lindisfarne, and five years later 
was transferred to the see of York. He had to combat the 
passions of wicked kings, the cowardice of worldly prelates, 
the errors of holy men. He was twice exiled and once 
imprisoned; yet the battle which he fought was won. He 
swept away the abuses of many years and a too national 
system, and substituted instead a vigorous Catholic disci- 
pline, modelled and dependent on Rome. He died October 
12th, 709, and at his death was heard the sweet melody of the 
angels conducting his soul to Christ. 

Reflection. — To look towards Rome is an instinct 
planted in us for the preservation of the faith. Trust in the 
Vicar of Christ necessarily results from the reign of His love 
in our hearts. 



OCTOBER 13.— ST. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 

Edward was unexpectedly raised to the throne of Eng- 
land at the age of forty years, twenty-seven of which he had 
passed in exile. On the throne, the virtues of his earlier 
years, simplicity, gentleness, lowliness, but above all his 
angelic purity, shone with new brightness. By a rare inspira- 
tion of God, though he married to content his nobles and 
people, he preserved perfect chastity in the wedded state. So 
little did he set his heart on riches, that thrice when he saw 
a servant robbing his treasury he let him escape, saying the 
poor fellow needed the gold more than he. He loved to 
stand at his palace-gate, speaking kindly to the poor beggars 
and lepers who crowded about him, and many of whom he 
healed of their diseases. The long wars had brought the 
kingdom to a sad state, but Edward's zeal and sanctity soon 
wrought a great change. His reign of twenty-four years 
was one of almost unbroken peace, the country grew pros- 
perous, the ruined churches rose under his hand, the weak 
lived secure, and for ages afterwards men spoke with affec- 
tion of the " laws of good St. Edward." The holy king had a 



October 14.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



491 



great devotion to building and enriching churches. West- 
minster Abbey was his latest and noblest work. He died 
January 5th, 1066. 




Reflection. — David longed to build a temple for God's 
service. Solomon reckoned it his glory to accomplish the 
work. But we, who have God made flesh dwelling in our 
tabernacles, ought to think no time, no zeal, no treasures 
too much to devote to the splendor and beauty of a Christian 
church. 



OCTOBER 14.— ST. CALLISTUS, POPE, MARTYR. 

Early in the third century, Callistus, then a deacon, was 
intrusted by Pope St. Zephyrinus with the rule of the clergy, 
and set by him over the cemeteries of the Christians at 
Rome ; and, at the death of Zephyrinus, Callistus, according 
to the Roman usage, succeeded to the Apostolic See. A 
decree is ascribed to him appointing the four fasts of the 



492 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 14 



Ember seasons, but his name is best known in connection 
with the old cemetery on the Appian Way, which was 
enlarged and adorned by him, and is called to this day the 
Catacomb of St. Callistus. During the persecution under 
the Emperor Severus, St. Callistus was driven to take shelter 
in the poor and populous quarters of the city ; yet, in spite of 
these troubles, and of the care of the Church, he made dil- 
igent search for the body of Calipodius, one of his clergy who 




had suffered martyrdom shortly before, by being cast into the 
Tiber. When he had found it he was full of joy, and buried 
it, with hymns of praise. Callistus was martyred October 
14th, 223. 

Reflection. — In the body of a Christian we see that 
which has been the temple of the Holy Ghost, which even 
now is precious in the eyes of God, who will watch over it, 
and one day raise it up in glory to shine forever in His 
kingdom. Let our actions bear witness to our belief in these 
truths. 



October 15.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



493 



OCTOBER 15.— ST. TERESA. 

When a child of seven years, Teresa ran away from her 
home at Avila in Spain, in the hope of being martyred by the 
Moors. Being brought back and asked the reason of her 
flight, she replied, " I want to see God, and I must die before 
I can see Him." She then began with her brother to build 
a hermitage in the garden, and was often heard repeating 




u Forever, forever." Some years later she became a Car- 
melite nun. Frivolous conversations checked her progress 
towards perfection, but at last, in her thirty-first year, she 
gave herself wholly to God. A vision showed her the very 
place in hell to which her own light faults would have led her; 
and she lived ever after in the deepest distrust of self. She 
was called to reform her Order, favored with distinct com- 
mands from Our Lord, and her heart was pierced with divine 
love; but she dreaded nothing so much as delusion, and to 
the last acted only under obedience to her confessors, which 



494 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 16. 



both made her strong and kept her safe. She died on 
October 4th, 1582. 

Reflection. — " After all I die a child of the Church." 
These were the Saint's last words. They teach us the lesson 
of her life — to trust in humble, childlike obedience to our 
spiritual guides as the surest means of salvation. 



OCTOBER 16.— ST. GALL, ABBOT. 

St. Gall was born in Ireland soon after the middle of the 
sixth century, of pious, noble, and rich parents When St. 
Columban left Ireland, St. Gall accompanied him into Eng- 
land, and afterward into France, where they arrived in 585. 




St. Columban founded the monastery of Anegray, in a wild 
forest in the diocese of Besangon, and two years afterward 
another in Luxeu. Being driven thence by King Theodoric, 
the Saints both withdrew into the territories of Theodebert. 
St. Columban, however, retired into Italy, but St. Gall was 



October 17.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



495 



prevented from bearing him company by a grievous fit of 
illness. St. Gall was a priest before he left Ireland, and hav- 
ing learned the language of the country where he settled, 
near the Lake of Constance, he converted to the faith a great 
number of idolaters. The cells which this Saint built there 
for those who desired to serve God with him, he gave to the 
monastery which bears his name. A synod of bishops, with 
the clergy and people, earnestly desired to place the Saint in 
the episcopal see of Constance ; but his modesty refused the 
dignity. He died in the year 646. 

Reflection. — " If any one would be My disciple," says 
our Saviour, " let him deny himself." The denial of self is, 
then, the royal road to perfection. 



OCTOBER 17.-ST. HEDWIGE— SAINT MARGARET 
MARY ALACO&UE. 

St. Hedwige, the wife of Henry, Duke of Silesia, and the 
mother of his six children, led a humble, austere, and most 
holy life amidst all the pomp of royal state. Devotion to the 
Blessed Sacrament was the key-note of her life. Her valued 
privilege was to supply the bread and wine for the Sacred 
Mysteries, and she would attend each morning as many 
Masses as were celebrated. After the death of her husband 
she retired to the Cistercian convent of Trebnitz, where she 
lived under obedience to her daughter Gertrude, who was 
abbess of the monastery, growing day by day in holiness, till 
God called her to Himself, a.d. 1242. 

Margaret Mary was born at Terreau in Burgundy, on 
the 22d July, 1647. During her infancy she showed a won- 
derfully sensitive horror of the very idea of sin. In 1671 she 
entered the Order of the Visitation, at Paray-le-Monial, and 
was professed the following year. After purifying her by 
many trials, Jesus appeared to her in numerous visions, dis- 
playing to her His Sacred Heart, sometimes burning as a fur- 
nace, and sometimes torn and bleeding on account of the 



496 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 18. 



coldness and sins of men. In 1675 the great revelation was 
made to her that she, in union with Father de la Colombiere, 
of the Society of Jesus, was to be the chief instrument for 
instituting the feast of the Sacred Heart, and for spreading 




that devotion throughout the world. She died on the 17th 
October, 1690. 

Reflection. — Love for the Sacred Heart especially 
honors the Incarnation, and makes the soul grow rapidly in 
humility, generosity, patience, and union with its Beloved. 



OCTOBER 18.— ST. LUKE. 

St. Luke, a physician at Antioch, and a painter, became 
a convert of St. Paul, and afterwards his fellow-laborer. He 
is best known to us as the historian of the New Testament. 
Though not an eye-witness of our Lord's life, the Evangelist 
diligently gathered information from the lips of the Apostles, 
and wrote, as he tells us, all things in order. The Acts of the 



October 18.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



497 



Apostles were written by this Evangelist as a sequel to his 
Gospel, bringing the history of the Church down to the first 
imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. The humble historian 
never names himself, but by his occasional use of " we " for 
" they " we are able to detect his presence in the scenes 
which he describes. We thus find that he sailed with St. 
Paul and Silas from Troas to Macedonia; stayed behind 
apparently for seven years at Philippi, and, lastly, shared the 




shipwreck and perils of the memorable voyage to Rome. 
Here his own narrative ends, but from St. Paul's Epistles we 
learn that St. Luke was his faithful companion to the end. 
He died a martyr's death some time afterwards in Achaia. 

Reflection. — Christ has given all He had for thee; do 
thou give all thou hast for Him. 



49 8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 19. 



OCTOBER 19, — ST. PETER OF ALCANTARA. 

Peter, while still a youth, left his home at Alcantara in 
Spain, and entered a convent of Discalced Franciscans. He 
rose quickly to high posts in the Order, but his thirst for 
penance was still unappeased, and in 1539, being then forty 




years old, he founded the first convent of the " Strict Observ- 
ance." The cells of the friars resembled graves rather than 
dwelling-places. That of St. Peter himself was four feet 
and a half in length, so that he could never lie down; he ate 
but once in three days; his sackcloth habit and a cloak were 
his only garments, and he never covered his head or feet. 
In the bitter winter he would open the door and window of 
his cell that, by closing them again, he might experience 
some sensation of warmth. Amongst those whom he trained 
to perfection was St. Teresa. He read her soul, approved 
of her spirit of prayer, and strengthened her to carry out her 
reforms. St. Peter died, with great joy, kneeling in prayer, 
October 18th, 1562, at the age of sixty-three. 



October 20.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



499 



Reflection. — If men do not go about barefoot now, 
nor undergo sharp penances, as St. Peter did, there are 
many ways of trampling on the world; and Our Lord teaches 
them when He finds the necessary courage. 



OCTOBER 20.— ST. JOHN CANTIUS. 

St. John was born at Kenty in Poland, a.d. 1403, and 
studied at Cracow with great ability, industry, and success, 
while his modesty and virtue drew all hearts to him. He 
was, for a short time, in charge of a parish; but he shrank 




from the burden of responsibility, and returned to his life of 
professor at Cracow. There, for many years, he lived a life 
of unobtrusive virtue, self-denial, and charity. His love for 
the Holy See led him often in pilgrimage to Rome, on foot 
and alone, and his devotion to the Passion drew him once 
to Jerusalem, where he hoped to win a martyr's crown by 
preaching to the Turks. He died a.d. 1473, at the age of 
seventy. 



5°o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 21. 



Reflection. — He who orders all his doings according 
to the will of God, may often be spoken of by the world as 
simple and stupid; but, in the end, he wins the esteem and 
confidence of the world itself, and the approval and peace 
of God. 



OCTOBER 21, — ST. URSULA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR. 

A number of Christian families had entrusted the educa- 
tion of their children to the care of the pious Ursula, and 
some persons of the world had in like manner placed them- 
selves under her direction. England being then harassed 




by the Saxons, Ursula deemed that she ought, after the ex- 
ample of many of her compatriots, to seek an asylum in 
Gaul. She met with an abiding-place on the borders of the 
Rhine, not far from Cologne, where she hoped to find undis- 
turbed repose; but a horde of Huns having invaded the 
country, she was exposed, together with all those who were 



October 22.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



501 



under her guardianship, to the most shameful outrages. 
Without wavering, they preferred one and all to meet death 
rather than incur shame. Ursula herself gave the example, 
and was, together with her companions, cruelly massacred 
in the year 453. The name of St. Ursula has from remote 
ages been held in great honor throughout the Church; she 
has always been regarded as the patroness of young persons 
and the model of teachers. 

Reflection. — In the estimation of the wise man, " the 
guarding of virtue " is the most important part of the edu- 
cation of youth. 



OCTOBER 22.— ST. MELLO, BISHOP.— ST. HILARION, ABBOT. 

St. Mello is said to have been a native of Great Britain; 
his zeal for the faith engaged him in the sacred ministry, and 
God having blessed his labors with wonderful success, he 
was consecrated first bishop of Rouen in Normandy, which 
see he is said to have held forty years. He died in peace, 
about the beginning of the fourth century. 

St. Hilarion was born of heathen parents, near Gaza, 
and was converted while studying grammar in Alexandria. 
Shortly after, he visited St. Antony, and, still only in his 
fifteenth year, he became a solitary in the Arabian desert. 
A multitude of monks, attracted by his sanctity, peopled the 
desert where he lived. In consequence of this, he fled from 
one country to another, seeking to escape the praise of men; 
but everywhere his miracles of mercy betrayed his presence. 
Even his last retreat at Cyprus was broken by a paralytic, 
who was cured by St. Hilarion, and then spread the fame of 
the Saint. He died with the words, " Go forth, my soul; 
why dost thou doubt? Nigh seventy years hast thou served 
God, and dost thou fear death? " 



502 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [October 23. 



OCTOBER 23.— ST. THEODORET, MARTYR. 

About the year 361, Julian, uncle to the emperor of that 
name, and like his nephew an apostate, was made Count of 
the East. He closed the Christian churches at Antioch, and 
when St. Theodoret assembled the Christians in private, he 




was summoned before the tribunal of the count and most 
inhumanly tortured. His arms and feet were fastened by 
ropes to pulleys, and stretched until his body appeared 
nearly eight feet long, and the blood streamed from his 
sides. " O most wretched man," he said to his judge, " you 
know well that at the day of judgment the crucified God 
whom you blaspheme will send you and the tyrant whom 
you serve to hell." Julian trembled at this awful prophecy, 
but he had the Saint despatched quickly by the sword, and 
in a little while the judge himself was arraigned before the 
judgment-seat of God. 

Reflection. — Those who do not go down to hell in 
spirit are very likely to go there in reality. Take care to 



October 24.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



503 



mediate upon the four last things, and to live in holy fear. 
You will learn to love God better by thinking how He pun- 
ishes those who do not love Him. 



OCTOBER 24.— ST. MAGLOIRE, BISHOP. 

St. Magloire was born in Brittany towards the end ot 
the fifth century. When he and his cousin St. Sampson came 
of an age to choose their way in life, Sampson retired into a 
monastery, and Magloire returned home, where he lived in 




the practice of virtue. Amon, Sampson's father, having been 
cured by prayer of a dangerous disease, left the world, and 
with his entire family consecrated himself to God. Magloire 
was so affected at this that, with his father, mother, and two 
brothers, he resolved to fly the world, and they gave all their 
goods to the poor and the Church. Magloire and his father 
attached themselves to Sampson, and obtained his permis- 
sion to take the monastic habit in the house over which he 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[October 25. 



presided. When Sampson was consecrated bishop, Magloire 
accompanied him in his apostolical labors in Armorica, or 
Brittany, and at his death he succeeded him in the Abbey of 
Dole, and in the episcopal character. After three years he 
resigned his bishopric, being seventy years old, and retired 
into a desert on the continent, and some time after into the 
isle of Jersey, where he founded and governed a monastery of 
sixty monks. He died about the year 575. 

Reflection. — " Be mindful of them that have rule over 
you, who have spoken to you the word of God, whose faith 
follow, considering the end." 



OCTOBER 25.— SS. CRISPIN AND CRISPINIAN, MARTYRS. 

These two glorious martyrs came from Rome to preach 
the faith in Gaul toward the middle of the third century. Fix- 




ing their residence at Soissons, they instructed many in the 
faith of Christ which they preached publicly in the day, and at 



October 26.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



505 



night they worked at making shoes, though they are said to 
have been nobly born, and brothers. The infidels listened 
to their instructions, and were astonished at the example 
of their lives, especially of their charity, disinterestedness, 
heavenly piety, and contempt of glory and all earthly things: 
and the effect was the conversion of many to the Christian 
faith. The brothers had continued their employment several 
years when a complaint was lodged against them. The 
emperor, to gratify their accusers and give way to his savage 
cruelty, gave orders that they should be convened before 
Rictius Varus, the most implacable enemy of the Christians. 
The martyrs were patient and constant under the most cruel 
torments, and finished their course by the sword about the 
year 287. 

Reflection. — Of how many may it be said that " they 
labor in vain," since God is not the end and purpose that 
inspires the labor! 



OCTOBER 26.— ST. EVARISTUS, POPE AND MARTYR. 

St. Evaristus succeeded St. Anacletus in the see of 
Rome, in the reign of Trajan, governed the Church nine 
years, and died in 112. The institution of cardinal priests is 
by some ascribed to him, because he first divided Rome into 
several titles or parishes, assigning a priest to each ; he also 
appointed seven deacons to attend the bishop. He conferred 
holy orders thrice in the month of December, when that 
ceremony was most usually performed, for holy orders were 
always conferred in seasons appointed for fasting and prayer. 
St. Evaristus was buried near St. Peter's tomb on the 
Vatican. 

Reflection. — The disciples of the apostles, by assiduous 
meditation on heavenly things, were so swallowed up in the 
life to come, that they seemed no longer inhabitants of this 
world. If Christians esteem and set their hearts on earthly 
goods, and lose sight of eternity in the course of their actions, 



506 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [OTOCBER 27. 




they are no longer animated by the spirit of the primitive 
Saints, and are become children of this world, slaves to its 
vanities, and to their own irregular passions. If we do not 
correct this disorder of our hearts, and conform our interior 
to the spirit of Christ, we cannot be entitled to his promises. 



OCTOBER 27,— ST. FRUMENTIUS, BISHOP. 

St. Frumentius was yet a child when his uncle, Meropius 
of Tyre, took him and his brother Edesius on a voyage to 
Ethiopia. In the course of their voyage the vessel touched 
at a certain port, and the barbarians of that country put the 
crew and all the passengers to the sword, except the two 
children. They were carried to the king, at Axuma, who, 
charmed with the wit and sprightliness of the two boys, took 
special care of their education ; and, not long after, made 
Edesius his cup-bearer, and Frumentius, who was the elder, 
his treasurer and secretary of state; on his death-bed, he 
thanked them for their services, and, in recompense, gave 



October 28.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



507 



them their liberty. After his death, the queen begged them 
to remain at court, and assist her in the government of the 
state until the young king came of age. Edesius went back 
to Tyre, but St. Athanasius ordained Frumentius bishop of 
the Ethiopians, and vested with this sacred character, he 
gained great numbers to the faith, and continued to feed and 




defend his flock till it pleased the Supreme Pastor to recom- 
pense his fidelity and labors. 

Reflection. — " The soul that journeys in the light and 
the truths of the faith is safe against all error." 



OCTOBER 28.— SS. SIMON AND JUDE. 

Simon was a simple Galilean, called by Our Lord to be 
one of the pillars of His Church. Zelotes, " the zealot," was 
the surname which he bore among the disciples. Armed 
with this zeal, he went forth to the combat against unbelief 
and sin, and made conquest of many souls for his Divine 
Lord. 



508 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [October 29. 

The Apostle Jude, whom the Church commemorates on 
the same day, was a brother of St. James the Less. They 
were called " brethren of the Lord," on account of their rela- 
tionship to His Blessed Mother. St. Jude preached first in 




Mesopotamia, as St. Simon did in Egypt; and finally they 
both met in Persia, where they won their crown together. 

Reflection. — Zeal is an ardent love which makes a man 
fearless in defence of God's honor, and earnest at all costs 
to make known the truth. If we would be children of the 
Saints, we must be zealous for the faith. 



OCTOBER 29. — ST. NARCISSUS, BISHOP. 

St. Narcissus was consecrated bishop of Jerusalem 
about the year 180. He was already an old man, and God 
attested his merits by many miracles, which were long held 
in memory by the Christians of Jerusalem. One Holy Sat- 
urday in the church the faithful were in great trouble, be- 



October 29 ] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



cause no oil could be found for the lamps which were used 
in the Paschal feast. St. Narcissus bade them draw water 
from a neighboring well, and, praying over it, told them to 
put it in the lamps. It was changed into oil, and long after 
some of this oil was preserved at Jerusalem in memory of 
the miracle. But the very virtue of the Saint made him 
enemies, and three wretched men charged him with an atro- 
cious crime. They confirmed their testimony by horrible 




imprecations: the first prayed that he might perish by fire, 
the second that he might be wasted by leprosy, the third 
that he might be struck blind, if they charged their bishop 
falsely. The holy bishop had long desired a life of solitude, 
and he withdrew secretly into the desert, leaving the Church 
in peace. But God spoke for His servant, and the bishop's 
accusers suffered the penalties they had invoked. Then 
Narcissus returned to Jerusalem and resumed his office. He 
died in extreme old age, bishop to the last. 

Reflection. — God never fails those who trust in Him; 
He guides them through darkness and through trials secretly 



510 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [October 30. 

and surely to their end, and in the evening time there is 
light 

OCTOBER 30.— ST. MARCELLUS, THE CENTURION, MARTYR 

The birthday of the Emperor Maximian Herculeus in 
the year 298 was celebrated with extraordinary feasting and 
solemnity. Marcellus, a Christian centurion or captain in 
the legion of Trajan, then posted in Spain, not to defile him- 




self with taking part in those impious abominations, left his 
company, declaring aloud that he was a soldier of Jesus 
Christ, the eternal king. He was at once committed to 
prison. When the festival was over, Marcellus was brought 
before a judge, and having declared his faith, was sent under 
a strong guard to Aurelian Agricolaus, vicar to the prefect 
of the prsetorium, who passed sentence of death upon him. 
St. Marcellus was forthwith led to execution, and beheaded 
on the 30th of October. Cassian, the secretary or notary of 
the court, refused to write the sentence pronounced against 



October 31.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



the martyr, because it was unjust. He was immediately 
hurried to prison, and was beheaded, about a month after, 
on the 3d of December. 

Reflection. — "We are ready to die rather than to 
transgress the laws of God/' exclaimed one of the Macha- 
bees. This sentiment should ever be that of a Christian in 
presence of temptation. 



OCTOBER 31. — ST. QUINTIN, MARTYR. 

St. Quintin was a Roman, descended of a senatorial 
family. Full of zeal for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, he 
left his country, and, attended by St. Lucian of Beauvais, 
made his way to Gaul. They preached the faith together 
in that country till they reached Amiens in Picardy, where 




they parted. Lucian went to Beauvais, and having sown the 
seeds of divine faith in the hearts of many, received the 
crown of martyrdom in that city. St. Quintin stayed in 
Amiens, endeavoring by his prayers and labors to make that 



512 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November i. 



country a portion of Our Lord's inheritance. He was seized, 
thrown into prison, and loaded with chains. Finding the 
holy preacher proof against promises and threats, the magis- 
trate condemned him to the most barbarous torture. His 
body was then pierced with two iron wires from the neck 
to the thighs, and iron nails were thrust under his nails, and 
in his flesh in many places, particularly into his skull; and 
lastly, his head was cut off. His death happened on the 31st 
of October, 287. 

Reflection. — Let us bear in mind that the ills of this life 
are not worthy to be compared to the glory " God has 
reserved for those who love Him." 



NOVEMBER 1 .—ALL-SAINTS, 

The Church pays, day by day, a special veneration to 
some one of the holy men and women who have helped to 
establish it by their blood, develop it by their labors, or edify 
it by their virtues. But, in addition to those whom the 
Church honors by special designation, or has inscribed in her 
calendar, how many martyrs are there whose names are not 
recorded? How many humble virgins and holy penitents? 
How many just and holy anchorites or young children 
snatched away in their innocence? How many Christians 
wha have died in grace, whose merits are known only to God, 
and who are themselves known only in heaven? Now should 
we forget those who remember us in their intercessions? 
Besides, are they not our brethren, our ancestors, friends, 
and fellow-Christians, with whom we have lived in daily com- 
panionship — in other words, our own family? Yea, it is one 
family ; and our place is marked out in this home of eternal 
light and eternal love. 

Reflection. — Let us have a solicitude to render our- 
selves worthy of " that chaste generation, so beautiful amid 
the glory where it dwells." 



November 2. J 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



NOVEMBER 2.— ALL-SOULS. 

The Church teaches us that the souls of the just who have 
left this world soiled with the stain of venial sin remain for 
a time in a place of expiation, where they suffer such pun- 
ishment as may be due to their offences. It is a matter of 




faith that these suffering souls are relieved by the interces- 
sion of the Saints in heaven and by the prayers of the faithful 
upon earth. To pray for the dead is, then, both an act of 
charity and of piety. We read in Holy Scripture : " It is a 
holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they 
may be loosed from sins." And when Our Lord inspired St. 
Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, towards the close of the tenth cen- 
tury, to establish in his Order a general commemoration of 
all the faithful departed, it was soon adopted by the whole 
Western Church, and has been continued unceasingly to our 
day. Let us, then, ever bear in mind the dead and offer up 
our prayers for them. By showing this mercy to the suffer- 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November 2. 



ing souls in purgatory, we shall be particularly entitled to be 
treated with mercy at our departure from this world, and to 
share more abundantly in the general suffrages of the Church, 
continually offered for all who have slept in Christ. 



ST. MALACHI, BISHOP. 

During his childhood Malachi would often separate him- 
self from his companions to converse in prayer with God. At 
the age of twenty-five he was ordained priest ; his devotion 
and zeal led to his being consecrated Bishop of Connor, and 




shortly afterwards he was made Archbishop of his native city 
Armagh. This see having by a long-standing abuse been 
held as an heirloom in one family, it required on the part of 
the Saint no little tact and firmness to allay the dissensions 
caused by his election. One day, while St. Malachi was 
burying the dead, he was laughed at by his sister. When 
she died, he said many Masses for her. Some time after- 
wards, in a vision, he saw her, dressed in mourning, standing 



November 3 ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



515 



in a church-yard, and saying that she had not tasted food for 
thirty days. Remembering that it was just thirty days since 
he last offered the Adorable Sacrifice for her, he began again 
to do so, and was rewarded by other visions, in the last of 
which he saw her within the church, clothed in white, near 
the altar, and surrounded by bright spirits. He twice made 
a pilgrimage to Rome to consult Christ's Vicar, the first 
time returning as Papal Legate, amid the joy of his people, 
with the pall for Armagh; but the second time bound for a 
happier home. He was taken ill at Clairvaux. He died, 
aged fifty-four, where he fain would have lived, in St. Ber- 
nard's monastery, on the 2d of November, 1148. 

Reflection. — Our Lord said to St. Gertrude, " God 
accepts every soul you set free, as if you had redeemed him 
from captivity, and will reward you in a fitting time for the 
benefit you have conferred." 



NOVEMBER 3.— ST. HUBERT, BISHOP. 

St. Hubert's early life is so obscured by popular tradi- 
tions that we have no authentic account of his actions. He 
is said to have been passionately addicted to hunting, and 
w r as entirely taken up in worldly pursuits. One thing is cer- 
tain: that he is the patron saint of hunters. Moved by divine 
grace, he resolved to renounce the world. His extraor- 
dinary fervor, and the great progress which he made in virtue 
and learning, strongly recommended him to St. Lambert, 
Bishop of Maestricht, who ordained him priest, and intrusted 
him with the principal share in the administration of his 
diocese. That holy prelate being barbarously murdered in 
681, St. Hubert was unanimously chosen his successor. With 
incredible zeal he penetrated into the most remote and bar- 
barous places of Ardenne, and abolished the worship of idols ; 
and as he performed the office of the apostles, God bestowed 
on him a like gift of miracles. He died on the 30th of May, 
in 727, reciting to his last breath the Creed and the Lord's 
Prayer. 



516 LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 4. 




Reflection. — What the Wise Man has said of Wisdom 
may be applied to Grace: " That it ordereth the means with 
gentleness, and attaineth its end with power." 



NOVEMBER 4.— ST. CHARLES BORROMEO. 

About fifty years after the Protestant heresy had broken 
out, Our Lord raised up a mere youth to renew the face of 
His Church. In 1560 Charles Borromeo, then twenty-two 
years of age, was created cardinal, and by the side of his 
uncle, Pius IV., administered the affairs of the Holy See. 
His first care was the direction of the Council of Trent. He 
urged forward its sessions, guided its deliberations by con- 
tinual correspondence from Rome, and by his firmness car- 
ried it to its conclusion. Then he entered upon a still more 
arduous work — the execution of its decrees. As Arch- 
bishop of Milan, he enforced their observance, and thor- 
oughly restored the discipline of his see. He founded 
schools for the poor, seminaries for the clerics, and by his 



November 4.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



5T7 



community of Oblates trained his priests to perfection. In- 
flexible in maintaining discipline, to his flock he was a most 
tender father. He would sit by the road-side to teach a 
poor man the Pater and Ave, and would enter hovels the 
stench of which drove his attendants from the door. Dur- 
ing the great plague, he refused to leave Milan, and was ever 
by the sick and dying, and sold even his bed for their support. 




So he lived, and so he died, a faithful image of the Good 
Shepherd, up to his last hour giving his life for his sheep. 

Reflection. — Daily resolutions to fulfil, at all cost, 
every duty demanded by God, is the lesson taught by St. 
Charles; and a lesson we must learn if we would overcome 
our corrupt nature and reform our lives. 



5i8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November 5. 



NOVEMBER 5.— ST. BERTILLE, ABBESS. 

St. Bertille was born of one of the most illustrious 
families in the territory of Soissons, in the reign of Dago- 
bert I. As she grew up, she learned perfectly to despise the 
world, and earnestly desired to renounce it. Not daring 




to tell this to her parents, she first consulted St. Ouen, by 
whom she was encouraged in her resolution. The Saint's 
parents were then made acquainted with her desire, which 
God inclined them not to oppose. They conducted her to 
Jouarre, a great monastery in Brie, four leagues from Meaux, 
where she was received with great joy and trained up in the 
strictest practice of monastic perfection. By her perfect 
submission to all her sisters she seemed every one's servant, 
and acquitted herself with such great chanty and edification 
that she was chosen prioress to assist the abbess in her 
administration. About the year 646 she was appointed first 
abbess of the abbey of Chelles, which she governed for 



November 6.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



519 



forty-six years with equal vigor and discretion, until she 
closed her penitential life in 692. 

Reflection. — It is written that the Saints raise them- 
selves heavenward, going from virtue to virtue, as by steps, 



NOVEMBER 6. — ST. LEONARD. 

Leonard, one of the chief personages of the court of 
Clovis, and for whom this monarch had stood as sponsor in 
baptism, was so moved by the discourse and example of St. 
Remigius that he relinquished the world in order to lead a 




more perfect life. The Bishop of Reims having trained 
Leonard to virtue, he became the apostle of such of the 
Franks as still remained pagans; but fearing that he might 
be summoned to the court by his reputation for sanctity, he 
withdrew secretly to the monastery of Micy, near Orleans, 
and afterwards to the solitude of Noblac, near Limoges. 
His charity not allowing him to remain inactive while there 



520 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November 7. 



was so much good to be done, he undertook the work of 
comforting prisoners, making them understand that the cap- 
tivity of sin was more terrible than any mere bodily con- 
straint. He won over a great many of these unfortunate 
persons, which gained for him many disciples, in whose 
behalf he founded a new monastery. St. Leonard died 
about the year 550. 

Reflection.—'' The wicked shall be taken with his own 
iniquities, and shall be held by the cords of his own sin." 

NOVEMBER 7.— ST. WILLIBRORD. 

Willibrord was born in Northumberland a.d. 657, and 
when twenty years old, went to Ireland, to study under St. 
Egbert; twelve years later, he felt drawn to convert the 




great pagan tribes who were hanging as a cloud over the 
north of Europe. He went to Rome for the blessing of 
the Pope, and with eleven companions reached Utrecht. 
The pagans would not accept the religion of their enemies 



NOXEMBER 8.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



521 



the Franks; and St. Willibrord could only labor in the track 
of Pepin Heristal, converting the tribes whom Pepin subju- 
gated. At Pepin's urgent request, he again went to Rome, 
and was consecrated Archbishop of Utrecht. He was 
stately and comely in person, frank and joyous, wise in coun- 
sel, pleasant in speech, in every work of God strenuous and 
unwearied. Multitudes were converted, and the Saint built 
churches and appointed priests all over the land. He 
wrought many miracles, and had the gift of prophecy. He 
labored unceasingly as bishop for more than fifty years, be- 
loved alike of God and of man, and died full of days and 
good works. 

Reflection. — True zeal has its root in the love of God. 
It can never be idle ; it must labor, toil, be doing great 
things. It glows as fire ; it is, like fire, insatiable. See if this 
spirit be in you. 



NOVEMBER 8.— THE FEAST OF THE HOLY RELICS. 

Protestantism pretends to regard the veneration which 
the Church pays to the relics of the Saints as a sin, and con- 
tends that this pious practice is a remnantof paganism. The 
Council of Trent, on the contrary, has decided that the bodies 
of the martyrs and other saints who were living members of 
Jesus Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost, are to be 
honored by the faithful. This decision was based upon the 
established usage of the earliest days of the Church, and 
upon the teaching of the Fathers and of the Councils. The 
Council orders, however, that all abuse of this devotion is to 
be avoided carefully, and forbids any relics to be exposed 
which have not been approved by the bishops, and these 
prelates are recommended to instruct the people faithfully in 
the teaching of the Church on this subject. While we regret, 
then, the errors of the impious and of heretics, let us profit 
by the advantages which we gain by hearkening to the voice 
of the Church. 



522 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November 9. 



NOVEMBER 9. — ST. THEODORE TYRO, MARTYR. 

St. Theodore was born of a noble family in the East, 
and enrolled while still a youth in the imperial army. Early 
in 306 the emperor put forth an edict requiring all Christians 
to offer sacrifice, and Theodore had just joined the legion and 
marched with them into Pontus, when he had to choose 
between apostasy and death. He declared before his com- 
mander that he was ready to be cut in pieces and offer up 




every limb to his Creator who had died for him. Wishing to 
conquer him by gentleness, the commander left him in peace 
for a while, that he might think over his resolution; but 
Theodore used his freedom to set on fire the great temple of 
Isis, and made no secret of this act. Still his judge entreated 
him to renounce his faith and save his life; but Theodore 
made the sign of the cross, and answered: " As long as 
I have breath, I will confess the name of Christ." After 
cruel torture, the judge bade him think of the shame to 



November io.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



523 



which Christ had brought him. " This shame," Theodore 
answered, " I and all who invoke His name take with joy." 
He was condemned to be burnt. As the flame rose, a Chris- 
tian saw his soul rise like a flash of light to heaven. 

Reflection. — We are enlisted in the same service as the 
holy martyrs, and we too must have courage and constancy if 
we would be perfect soldiers of Jesus Christ. Let us take 
our part with them in confessing the faith of Christ and 
despising the world, that we may have our part with them in 
Christ's kingdom. 

NOVEMBER 10.— ST. ANDREW AVELLINO. 



After a holy youth, Lancelot Avellino was ordained 
priest at Naples. At the age of thirty-six, he entered the 
Theatine Order, and took the name of Andrew, to show his 




love for the cross. For fifty years he was afflicted with a 
most painful rupture; yet he would never use a carriage. 
Once when he was carrying the Viaticum, and a storm had 



524 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November i. 



extinguished the lamps, a heavenly light encircled him, 
guided his steps, and sheltered him from the rain. But as a 
rule, his sufferings were unrelieved by God or man. On the 
last day of his life, St. Andrew rose to say Mass. He was in 
his eighty-ninth year, and so weak that he could scarcely 
reach the altar. He began the " Judica," and fell forward in 
a fit of apoplexy. Laid on a straw mattress, his whole frame 
was convulsed in agony, while the fiend in visible form 
advanced to seize his soul. Then, as his brethren prayed and 
wept, the voice of Mary was heard, bidding the Saint's guar- 
dian angel send the tempter back to hell. A calm and holy 
smile settled on the features of the dying Saint, as, with 
a grateful salutation to the image of Mary, he breathed forth 
his soul to God. His death happened on the ioth of 
November, 1608. 

Reflection. — St. Andrew, who suffered so terrible an 
agony, is the special patron against sudden death. Ask him 
to be with you in your last hour, and to bring Jesus and 
Mary to your aid. 



NOVEMBER n.— ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 

When a mere boy, Martin became a Christian catechu- 
men against his parents' wish; and at fifteen was there- 
fore seized by his father, a pagan soldier, and enrolled in the 
army. One winter's day, when stationed at Amiens, he met 
a beggar almost naked and frozen with cold. Having no 
money, he cut his cloak in two and gave him the half. That 
night he saw Our Lord clothed in the half cloak, and heard 
Him say to the angels, " Martin, yet a catechumen, hath 
wrapped Me in this garment." This decided him to be bap- 
tized, and shortly after he left the army. He succeeded in 
converting his mother; but being driven from his home by 
the Arians, he took shelter with St. Hilary, and founded near 
Poitiers the first monastery in France. In 372, he was made 
Bishop of Tours. His flock, though Christian in name, was 
still pagan in heart. Unarmed, and attended only by his 



November 12.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



525 



monks, Martin destroyed the heathen temples and groves, 
and completed by his preaching and miracles the conversion 
of the people, whence he is known as the Apostle of Gaul. 
His last eleven years were spent in humble toil to atone for 




his faults, while God made manifest by miracles the purity of 
his soul. 

Reflection. — It was for Christ crucified that St. Martin 
worked. Are you working for the same Lord? 



NOVEMBER 12.— ST. MARTIN, POPE. 

St. Martin, who occupied the Roman See from a.d. 649 
to 655, incurred the enmity of the Byzantine court by his 
energetic opposition to the Monothelite heresy, and the 
Exarch Olympius went so far as to endeavor to procure 
the assassination of the Pope as he stood at the altar in the 
church of St. Mary Major; but the would-be murderer was 
miraculously struck blind, and his master refused to have any 



526 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 12. 



further hand in the matter. His successor had no such 
scruples ; he seized Martin, and conveyed him on board a ves- 
sel bound for Constantinople. After a three months' voyage, 
the island of Naxos was reached, where the Pope was kept in 
confinement for a year, and finally, in 654, brought in chains 
to the imperial city. He was then banished to the Tauric 




Chersonese, where he lingered on for four months in sickness 
and starvation, till God released him by death on the 12th of 
November, 655. 

Reflection. — There have been times in the history of 
Christianity when its truths have seemed on the verge of 
extinction. But there is one Church whose testimony has 
never failed: it is the Church of St. Peter, the Apostolic and 
Roman See. Put your whole trust in her teaching. 



November 13.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



527 



NOVEMBER 13.— ST. STANISLAS KOSTKA. 

St. Stanislas was of a noble Polish family. At the age 
of fourteen he went with his elder brother Paul to the Jesuits' 
College at Vienna ; and though Stanislas was ever bright and 
sweet-tempered, his austerities were felt as a reproach by 




Paul, who shamefully maltreated him. This ill-usage and 
his own penances brought on a dangerous illness, and being 
in a Lutheran house he was unable to send for a priest. He 
now remembered to have read of his patroness, St. Barbara, 
that she never permitted her clients. to die without the Holy 
Viaticum : he devoutly appealed to her aid, and she appeared 
with two angels, who gave him the Sacred Host. He was 
cured of this illness by Our Lady herself, and was bidden by 
her to enter the Society of Jesus. To avoid his father's 
opposition, he was obliged to fly from Vienna; and having 
proved his constancy by cheerfully performing the most 
menial offices, he was admitted to the novitiate at Rome. 



528 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 14. 



There he lived for ten short months marked by a rare piety, 
obedience, and devotion to his institute. He died, as he had 
prayed to die, on the feast of the Assumption, 1568, at the 
age of seventeen. 

Reflection. — St. Stanislas teaches us in every trial of 
life, and above all in the hour of death, to have recourse to 
our patron Saint, and to trust without fear to his aid. 



NOVEMBER 14.— ST. DIDACUS. 

St. Didacus was born in Spain, in the middle of the fif- 
teenth century. He was remarkable from childhood for his 
love of solitude, and when a youth retired and led a hermit 




life, occupying himself with weaving mats, like the fathers of 
the desert. Aiming at still higher perfection, he entered the 
Order of St. Francis. His want of learning and his humility 
would not allow him to aspire to the priesthood, and he 
remained a lay-brother till his death, perfect in his close 



November 14.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



529 



observance of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, 
and mortifying his will and his senses in every way that he 
could contrive. At one time he was sent by his superiors to 
the Canary Islands, whither he went joyfully, hoping to win 
the crown of martyrdom. Such, however, was not God's 
will, and after making many conversions by his example and 
holy words, he was recalled to Spain. There, after a long 
and painful illness, he finished his days, embracing the cross 
which he had so dearly loved through his life. He died with 
the words of the hymn " Dulce lignum " on his lips. 

Reflection. — If God be in your heart, He will be also on 
your lips; for Christ has said, " From the abundance of the 
heart the mouth speaketh." 



ST. LAURENCE O'TOOL, ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN. 

St. Laurence, it appears, was born about the year 1125. 
When only ten years old, his father delivered him up as a 
hostage to Dermod Mac Murchad, King of Leinster, who 
treated the child with great inhumanity, until his father 
obliged the tyrant to put him in the hands of the Bishop of 
Glendalough in the county of Wicklow. The holy youth, by 
his fidelity in corresponding with the divine grace, grew to 
be a model of virtues. On the death of the bishop, who was 
also abbot of the monastery, St. Laurence was chosen abbot 
in 1 1 50, though but twenty-five years old, and governed his 
numerous community with wonderful virtue and prudence. 
In 1 161, St. Laurence was unanimously chosen to fill the new 
metropolitan See of Dublin. About the year 1171, he was 
obliged, for the affairs of his diocese, to go over to England 
to see the king, Henry II., who was then at Canterbury. 
The Saint was received by the Benedictine monks of Christ 
Church with the greatest honor and respect. On the follow- 
ing day, as the holy archbishop was advancing to the altar 
to officiate, a maniac, who had heard much of his sanctity, 
and who was led on by the idea of making so holy a man 
another St. Thomas, struck him a violent blow on the head. 



i - 



530 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November 14. 



All present concluded that he was mortally wounded; but 
the Saint coming to himself, asked for some water, blessed it, 
and having his wound washed with it, the blood was imme- 
diately stanched, and the archbishop celebrated Mass. In 
1 175, Henry II. of England became offended with Roderic, 
the monarch of Ireland, and St. Laurence undertook another 
journey to England to negotiate a reconciliation between 
them. Henry was so moved by his piety, charity, and pru- 




dence, that he granted him everything he asked, and left the 
whole negotiation to his discretion. Our Saint ended his 
journey here below on the 14th of November, 1180, and was 
buried in the church of the abbey at Eu, on the confines of 
Normandy. 



November 15.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



531 



NOVEMBER 15 ST. GERTRUDE, ABBESS. 

Gertrude was born in the year 1263, of a noble Saxon 
family, and placed at the age of five for education in the 
Benedictine abbey of Rodelsdorf. Her strong mind was 
carefully cultivated, and she wrote Latin with unusual ele- 




gance and force; above all, she was perfect in humility and 
mortification, in obedience, and in all monastic observance. 
Her life was crowded with wonders. She has in obedience 
recorded some of her visions, in which she traces in words 
of indescribable beauty the intimate converse of her soul 
with Jesus and Mary. She was gentle to all, most gentle 
to sinners; filled with devotion to the Saints of God, to the 
souls in purgatory, and above all to the Passion of Our Lord 
and to His sacred Heart. She ruled her abbey with per- 
fect wisdom and love for forty years. Her life was one of 
great and almost continual suffering, and her longing to be 



532 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 16. 



with Jesus was not granted till a.d. 1334, when she had 
reached her seventy-second year. 

Reflection. — No preparation for death can be better 

than to offer and resign ourselves anew to the Divine Will 

humbly, lovingly, with unbounded confidence in the infinite 
mercy and goodness of God. 



NOVEMBER 16.— ST. EDMUND OF CANTERBURY. 

St. Edmund left his home at Abingdon, a boy of twelve 
years old, to study at Oxford, and there protected himself 
against many grievous temptations by a vow of chastity, 
and by espousing himself to Mary for life. He was soon 




called to active public life, and as treasurer of the diocese 
of Salisbury showed such charity to the poor that the dean 
said he was rather the treasure than the treasurer of their 
church. In 1234 he was raised to the see of Canterbury, 



November 17,] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



533 



where he fearlessly defended the rights of Church and State 
against the avarice and greed of Henry III.; but finding him- 
self unable to force that monarch to relinquish the livings 
which he kept vacant for the benefit of the royal coffers, 
Edmund retired into exile sooner than appear to connive 
at so foul a wrong. After two years spent in solitude and 
prayer, he went to his reward, and the miracles wrought at 
his tomb at Pontigny were so numerous that he was canon- 
ized in 1246, within four years of his death. 

Reflection. — The Saints were tempted even more than 
ourselves; but they stood where we fall, because they trusted 
to Mary, and not to themselves. 



NOVEMBER 17.— ST. GREGORY THAUMATURGUS. 

St. Gregory was born in Pontus, of heathen parents. 
In Palestine, about the year 231, he studied philosophy 
under the great Origen, who led him from the pursuit of 
human wisdom to Christ, who is the Wisdom of God. Not 
long after, he was made Bishop of Neocsesarea in his own 
country. As he lay awake one night, an old man entered 
his room, and pointed to a lady of superhuman beauty and 
radiant with heavenly light. This old man was St. John the 
Evangelist; and the lady told him to give Gregory the in- 
struction he desired. Thereupon he gave St. Gregory a 
creed which contained in all its fullness the doctrine of the 
Trinity. St. Gregory set it in writing, directed all his preach- 
ing by it, and handed it down to his successors. Strong in 
this faith, he subdued demons, he foretold the future. At 
his word a rock moved from its place, a river changed its 
course, a lake was dried up. He converted his diocese, and 
strengthened those under persecution. He struck down 
a rising heresy; and when he was gone, this creed preserved 
his flock from the Arian pest. St. Gregory died in the 
year 270. 



534 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November 18. 




Reflection. — Devotion to the blessed Mother of God 
is the sure protection of faith in her Divine Son. Every 
time that we invoke her, we renew our faith in the Incarnate 
God; we reverse the sin and unbelief of our first parents; we 
take our part with her who was blessed because she believed. 



NOVEMEER 18. — ST. 0D0 OF CLUNY. 

On Christmas-eve, a.d. 877, a noble of Aquitaine im- 
plored Our Lady to grant him a son. His prayer was 
heard; Odo was born, and his grateful father offered him to 
St. Martin. Odo grew in wisdom and in virtue, and his 
father longed to see him shine at court. But the attraction 
of grace was too strong. Odo's heart was sad and his health 
failed, until he forsook the world, and sought refuge under 
the shadow of St. Martin at Tours. Later on, he took the 
habit of St. Benedict at Baume, and was competed to be- 
come abbot of the great abbey of Cluny, which was then 
building. He ruled it with the hand of a master and the 



November 19.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



535 



winningness of a Saint. The Pope sent for him often to 
act as peacemaker between contending princes, and it was 
on one of those missions of mercy that he was taken ill at 
Rome. At his urgent entreaty he was borne back to Tours, 
where he died at the feet of " his own St. Martin," a.d. 942. 




Reflection. — " It needs only," says Father Newman, 
" for a Catholic to show devotion to any Saint, in order to 
receive special benefits from his intercession." 



NOVEMBER 19. — ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY. 

Elizabeth was daughter of a king of Hungary, and 
niece of St. Hedwige. She was betrothed in infancy to 
Louis, Landgrave of Thuringia, and brought up in his 
father's court. Not content with receiving daily numbers 
of poor in her palace, and relieving all in distress, she built 
several hospitals, where she served the sick, dressing the 



53^ 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 19. 



most repulsive sores with her own hands. Once as she was 
carrying in the folds of her mantle some provisions for the 
poor, she met her husband returning from the chase. As- 
tonished to see her bending under the weight of her burden 
he opened the mantle which she kept pressed against her, 
and found in it nothing but beautiful red and white roses, 
although it was not the season for flowers. Bidding her 
pursue her way, he took one of the marvellous roses, and 




kept it all his life. On her husband's death she was cruelly 
driven from her palace, and forced to wander through the 
streets with her little children, a prey to hunger and cold; 
but she welcomed all her sufferings, and continued to be 
the mother of the poor, converting many by her holy life. 
She died in 1231, at the age of twenty-four. 

Reflection. — This young and delicate princess made 
herself the servant and nurse of the poor. Let her example 
teach us to disregard the opinions of the world and to over- 
come our natural repugnances, in order to serve Christ in 
the persons ot His poor. 



November 20.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 537 



NOVEMBER 20.— ST. FELIX OF VALOIS. 

St. Felix was son of the Count of Valois. His mother 
throughout his youth did all she could to cultivate in him a 
spirit of charity. The unjust divorce between his parents 
matured a long-formed resolution of leaving the world; and 




confiding his mother to her pious brother, Thibault, Count 
of Champagne, he took the Cistercian habit at Clairvaux. 
His rare virtues drew on him such admiration that, with 
St. Bernard's consent, he fled to Italy, where he led an 
austere life with an aged hermit. At this time he was or- 
dained priest, and his old counsellor having died, he returned 
to France, and for many years lived as a solitary at Cerfroid. 
Here God inspired him with the desire of founding an Order 
for the redemption of Christian captives, and moved St. John 
of Matha, then a youth, to conceive a similar wish. To- 
gether they drew up the rules of the Order of the Holy 



538 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[NOVEMBER 2 1. 



Trinity. Many disciples gathered round them; and seeing 
that the time had come for further action, the two Saints 
made a pilgrimage to Rome to obtain the confirmation of the 
Order from Innocent III. Their prayer was granted, and 
the last fifteen years of Felix's long life were spent in organ- 
izing and developing his rapidly increasing foundations. He 
died a.d. 1213. 

Reflection. — " Think how much," says St. John Chrys- 
ostom, " and how often thy mouth has sinned, and thou 
wilt devote thyself entirely to the conversion of sinners. For 
by this one means thou wilt blot out all thy sins, in that thy 
mouth will become the mouth of God." 



NOVEMBER 21. — THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED 
VIRGIN MARY. 

Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to conse- 
crate their children to the divine service and love, both before 
and after their birth. Some amongst tTie Jews, not content 
with this general consecration of their children, offered them 
to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the 
temple, to be lodged in apartments belonging to the temple, 
and brought up in attending the priests and Levites in the 
sacred ministry. It is an ancient tradition, that the Blessed 
Virgin Mary was thus solemnly offered to God in the temple 
in her infancy. This festival of the Presentation of the 
Blessed Virgin, the Church celebrates this day. The tender 
soul of Mary was then adorned with the most precious 
graces, an object of astonishment and praise to the angels, 
and of the highest complacence to the adorable Trinity; the 
Father looking upon her as His beloved daughter, the Son 
as one chosen and prepared to become His mother, and the 
Holy Ghost as His darling spouse. Mary was the first who 
set up the standard of virginity; and, by consecrating it by 
a perpetual vow to Our Lord, she opened the way to all 
virgins who have since followed her example. 



November 22.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



539 




Reflection. — Mary's first presentation to God was an 
offering most acceptable in His sight. Let our consecration 
of ourselves to God be made under her patronage, and as- 
sisted by her powerful intercession and the union of her 
merits. 



NOVEMBER 22.— ST. CECILIA, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

On the evening of her wedding-day, with the music of 
the marriage-hymn ringing in her ears, Cecilia, a rich, beau- 
tiful, and noble Roman maiden, renewed the vow by which 
she had consecrated her virginity to God. "Pure be my 
heart and undefiled my flesh; for I have a spouse you know 
not of — an angel of my Lord." The heart of her young hus- 
band Valerian was moved by her words; he received baptism, 
and within a few days he and his brother Tiburtius, who had 
been brought by him to a knowledge of the faith, sealed 
their confession with their blood. Cecilia only remained. 
" Do you not know," was her answer to the threats of the 



54Q 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 2 2. 



prefect, " that I am the bride of my Lord Jesus Christ? " 
The death appointed for her was suffocation, and she re- 
mained a day and a night in a hot-air bath, heated seven 
times its wont. But " the flames had no power over her 
body, neither was a hair of her head singed." The lictor 
sent to dispatch her struck with trembling hand the three 
blows which the law allowed, and left her still alive. For 
two days and nights Cecilia lay with her head half severed 




on the pavement of her bath, fully sensible, and joyfully 
awaiting her crown; on the third the agony was over, and 
a.d. 177, the virgin Saint gave back her pure spirit to Christ. 

Reflection. — St. Cecilia teaches us to rejoice in every 
sacrifice as a pledge of our love of Christ, and to welcome 
sufferings and death as hastening our union with Him. 



November 23.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



541 



NOVEMBER 23.— ST. CLEMENT OF ROME. 

St. Clement is said to have been a convert of noble birth, 
and to have been consecrated bishop by St. Peter himself. 
With the words of the Apostles still, ringing in his ears, he 
began to rule the Church of God ; and thus he was among the 




first, as he was among the most illustrious, in the long line of 
those who have held the place and power of Peter. He lived 
at the same time and in the same city with Domitian, the 
persecutor of the Church; and besides external foes he had 
to contend with schism and rebellion from within. The 
Corinthian Church was torn by intestine strife, and its mem- 
bers set the authority of their clergy at defiance. It was 
then that St. Clement interfered in the plenitude of his apos- 
tolic authority, and sent his famous epistle to the Corinthians. 
He urged the duties of charity, and above all of submission 
to the clergy. He did not speak in vain ; peace and order 
were restored. St. Clement had done his work on earth, and 



542 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 24. 



shortly after sealed with his blood the faith which he had 
learned from Peter and taught to the nations. 

Reflection. — God rewards a simple spirit of submission 
to the clergy, for the honor done to them is done to Him. 
Your virtue is unreal, your faith in danger, if you fail in this. 



NOVEMBER 24.— ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS. 

The father of St. John was discarded by his kindred for 
marrying a poor orphan, and the Saint, thus born and nur- 
tured in poverty, chose it also for his portion. Unable to 
learn a trade, he became the servant of the poor in the hos- 




pital of Medina, while still pursuing his sacred studies. In 
1563, being then twenty-one, he humbly offered himself as a 
lay brother to the Carmelite friars, who, however, knowing 
his talents, had him ordained priest. He would now have 
exchanged to the severe Carthusian Order, had not St. 



November 25.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



543 



Teresa, with the instinct of a Saint, persuaded him to remain 
and help her in the reform of his own Order. Thus he became 
the first prior of the Barefooted Carmelites. His reform, 
though approved by the general, was rejected by the elder 
friars, who condemned the Saint as a fugitive and apostate, 
and cast him into prison, whence he only escaped, after nine 
months' suffering, at the risk of his life. Twice again, before 
his death, he was shamefully persecuted by his brethren, and 
publicly disgraced. But his complete abandonment by 
creatures only deepened his interior peace and devout long- 
ing for heaven. 

Reflection. — " Live in the world," said St. John, " as if 
God and your soul only were in it ; so shall your heart be 
never made captive by any earthly thing." 



NOVEMBER 25.— ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA. 

Catherine was a noble virgin of Alexandria. Before her 
baptism, it is said, she saw in vision the Blessed Virgin ask 
her Son to receive her among His servants, but the Divine 
Infant turned away. After baptism, Catherine saw the same 
vision, when Jesus Christ received her with great affection, 
and espoused her before the court of heaven. When the 
impious tyrant, Maximin II., came to Alexandria, fascinated 
by the wisdom, beauty, and wealth of the Saint, he in vain 
urged his suit. At last in his rage and disappointment he 
ordered her to be stripped and scourged. She fled to the 
Arabian mountains, where the soldiers overtook her, and 
after many torments put her to death. Her body was laid in 
Mount Sinai, and a beautiful legend relates that Catherine 
having prayed that no man might see or touch her body after 
death angels bore it to the grave. 

Reflection. — The constancy displayed by the Saints in 
their glorious martyrdom cannot be isolated from their 
previous lives, but is their natural sequence. If we wish to 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[November 26. 




emulate their perseverance, let us first imitate their fidelity to 
grace. 



NOVEMBER 26.—ST. PETER OF ALEXANDRIA, BISHOP, 

MARTYR 

St. Peter governed the Church of Alexandria during the 
persecution of Diocletian. The sentence of excommunica- 
tion that he was the first to pronounce against the schis- 
matics, Melitius and Arius, and which, despite the united 
efforts of powerful partisans, he strenuously upheld, proves 
that he possessed as much sagacity as zeal and firmness. But 
his most constant care was employed in guarding his flock 
from the dangers arising out of persecution. He never 
ceased repeating to them that, in order not to fear death, it 
was needful to begin by dying to self, renouncing our will, 
and detaching ourselves from all things. St. Peter gave an 
example of such detachment by undergoing martyrdom in 
the year 311. 



November 27.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 545 




Reflection. — " How hardly shall they that have riches 
enter into the kingdom of God! " says our Saviour; because 
they are bound to earth by the strong ties of their riches. 



NOVEMBER 27.— ST. MAXIMUS, BISHOP. 

St. Maximus, abbot of Lerins, in succession to St. 
Honoratus, was remarkable not only for the spirit of recol- 
lection, fervor, and piety familiar to him from very childhood, 
but still more for the gentleness and kindliness with which he 
governed the monastery which at that time contained many 
religious, and was famous for the learning and piety of its 
brethren. Exhibiting in his own person an example of the 
most sterling virtues, his exhortations could not fail to prove 
all-persuasive; loving all his religious, whom it was his 
delight to consider as one family, he established amongst 
them that sweet concord, union, and holy emulation for well- 
doing which render the exercise of authority needless, and 
makes submission a pleasure. The clergy and people of 



546 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [November 28. 



Frejus, moved by such a shining example, elected Maximus 
for their bishop, but he took to flight ; subsequently, he was 
compelled, however, to accept the see of Riez, where he 
practised virtue in all gentleness, and died in 460, regretted 
as the best of fathers. 




Reflection. — " Masters, do to your servants that which 
is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in 
Heaven.'' 



NOVEMBER 28.— ST. JAMES OF LA MARCA OF ANCONA. 

The small town of Montbrandon, in the Marca of Ancona, 
gave birth to this Saint. When young he was sent to the 
University of Perugia, where his progress in learning soon 
qualified him to be chosen preceptor to a young gentleman 
of Florence. Fearing that he might be engulfed in the 
whirlpool of worldly excesses, St. James applied himself to 



November 28.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



547 



prayer and recollection. When travelling near Assisium, he 
went into the great church of the Portiuncula to pray, and 
being animated by the fervor of the holy men who there 
served God, and by the example of their blessed founder St. 
Francis, he determined to petition in that very place for the 
habit of the Order. He began his spiritual war against the 




devil, the world, and the flesh, with assiduous prayer and 
extraordinary fasts and watchings. For forty years, he 
never passed a day without taking the discipline. Being 
chosen archbishop of Milan, he fled, and could not be pre- 
vailed on to accept the office. He wrought several miracles 
at Venice and at other places, and raised from dangerous 
sicknesses the Duke of Calabria and the King of Naples. 
The Saint died in the convent of the Holy Trinity of his 
Order, near Naples, on the 28th of November, in the year 
1476, being ninety years old, seventy of which he had spent 
in a religious state. 



548 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [[November 29. 



NOVEMBER 29.— ST. SATURNINUS, MARTYR. 

Saturninus went from Rome, by direction of Pope 
Fabian, about the year 245, to preach the faith in Gaul. He 
fixed his episcopal see at Toulouse, and thus became the first 
Christian bishop of that city. There were but few Christians 




in the place. However, their number grew fast after the 
coming of the Saint ; and his power was felt by the spirits of 
evil, who received the worship of the heathen. His power 
was felt the more because he had to pass daily through the 
capitol, the high place of the heathen worship, on the way to 
his own church. One day a great multitude was gathered 
by an altar, where a bull stood ready for the sacrifice. A 
man in the crowd pointed out Saturninus, who was passing 
by, and the people would have forced him to idolatry ; but the 
holy bishop answered : " I know but one God, and to Him 
I will offer the sacrifice of praise. How can I fear gods who,. 



November 30 ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



549 



as you say, are afraid of me? " On this he was fastened to the 
bull, which was driven down the capitol. The brains of the 
Saint were scattered on the steps. His mangled body was 
taken up and buried by two devout women. 

Reflection. — When beset by the temptations of the 
devil, let us call upon the Saints, who reign with Christ. 
They were powerful during their lives against the devil and 
his angels. They are more powerful now that they have 
passed from the Church on earth to the Church triumphant. 



NOVEMBER 30.— ST. ANDREW, APOSTLE. 

St. Andrew was one of the fishermen of Bethsaida, and 
brother, perhaps elder brother, of St. Peter, and became a 




disciple of St. John Baptist. He seemed always eager to 
bring others into notice ; when called himself by Christ on 
the banks of the Jordan, his first thought was to go in search 



55Q 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December i. 



of his brother, and he said, " We have found the Messias," 
and he brought him to Jesus. It was he again who, when 
Christ wished to feed the five thousand in the desert, pointed 
out the little lad with the five loaves and fishes. St. Andrew 
went forth upon his mission to plant the faith in Scythia and 
Greece, and at the end of years of toil to win a martyr's 
crown. After suffering a cruel scourging at Patrae in Achaia, 
he was left, bound by cords, to die upon a cross. When St. 
Andrew first caught sight of the gibbet in which he was to 
die, he greeted the precious wood with joy. " O, good 
cross! " he cried, " made beautiful by the limbs of Christ, so 
long desired, now so happily found! Receive me into thy 
arms, and present me to my Master, that He who redeemed 
me through thee may now accept me from thee." Two whole 
days the martyr remained hanging on this cross alive, 
preaching, with outstretched arms from this chair of truth, to 
all who came near, and entreating them not to hinder his 
passion. 

Reflection. — If we would do good to others, we must, 
like St. Andrew, keep close to the Cross. 



DECEMBER i.— ST. ELIGIUS. 

Eligius, a goldsmith at Paris, was commissioned by 
King Clotaire to make a throne. With the gold and 
precious stones given him he made two. Struck by his rare 
honesty, the king gave him an appointment at court, and 
demanded an oath of fidelity sworn upon holy relics; but 
Eligius prayed with tears to be excused, for fear of failing 
in reverence to the relics of the Saints. On entering the 
court, he fortified himself against its seductions by many 
austerities and continual ejaculatory prayers. He had a 
marvellous zeal for the redemption of captives, and for their 
deliverance would sell his jewels, his food, his clothes, and 
his very shoes, once by his prayers breaking their chains 
and opening their prisons. His great delight was in making 
rich shrines for relics. His striking virtue caused him, a 



December 2.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



551 



layman and a goldsmith, to be made Bishop of Noyon; and 
his sanctity in this holy office was remarkable. He pos- 
sessed the gifts of miracles and prophecy, and died in 665. 




Reflection. — When God called His Saints to Himself, 
He might, had He so pleased, have taken their bodies also; 
but He willed to leave them in our charge, for our help and 
consolation. Be careful to imitate St. Eligius in making a 
good use of so great a treasure. 



DECEMBER 2.— ST. BIBIANA, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

St. Bibiana was a native of Rome. Flavian, her father, 
was apprehended, burned in the face with a hot iron, and 
banished to Acquapendente, where he died of his wounds a 
few days after; and her mother, Dafrosa, was some time after 
beheaded. Bibiana and her sister Demetria, after the death 
of their parents, were stripped of all they had in the world 
and suffered much from poverty. Apronianus, Governor 



552 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December 2. 



of Rome, summoned them to appear before him. Demetria, 
having made confession of her faith, fell down and expired 
at the foot of the tribunal, in the presence of the judge. 
Apronianus gave orders that Bibiana should be put into the 
hands of a wicked woman named Rufina, who was to bring 
her to another way of thinking; but Bibiana, making prayer 
her shield, remained invincible. Apronianus, enraged at 
the courage and perseverance of a tender virgin, ordered 




her to be tied to a pillar and whipped with scourges loaded 
with leaden plummets till she expired. The Saint under- 
went this punishment cheerfully, and died in the hands of the 
executioners. 

Reflection. — Pray for a fidelity and patience like Bibi- 
ana's under all trials, that neither convenience nor any 
worldly advantage may ever prevail upon you to transgress 
your duty. 



December 3.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



553 



DECEMBER 3. ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. 

A young Spanish gentleman, in the dangerous days of 
the Reformation, was making a name for himself as a Pro- 
fessor of Philosophy in the University of Paris, and had 
seemingly no higher aim, when St. Ignatius, of Loyola, won 




him to heavenly thoughts. After a brief apostolate amongst 
his countrymen in Rome, he was sent by St. Ignatius to the 
Indies, where for twelve years he was to wear himself out, 
bearing the Gospel to Hindostan, to Malacca, and to Japan. 
Thwarted by the jealousy, covetousness, and carlessness of 
those who should have helped and encouraged him, neither 
their opposition nor the difficulties of every sort which he 
encountered could make him slacken his labors for souls. 
The vast kingdom of China appealed to his charity, and he 
was resolved to risk his life to force an entry, when God took 
him to Himself, and on the 2d of December, 1552, he died, 
like Moses, in sight of the land of promise. 



554 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December 4. 



Reflection. — Some are specially called to work for 
souls; but there is no one who cannot help much in their 
salvation. Holy example, earnest intercession, the offer- 
ings of our actions in their behalf — all this needs only the 
spirit which animated St. Francis Xavier, the desire to make 
some return to God. 



DECEMBER 4.— ST. BARBARA, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

St. Barbara was brought up a heathen. A tyrannical 
father, Dioscorus, had kept her jealously secluded in a 
lonely tower which he had built for the purpose. Here, in 
her forced solitude, she gave herself, to prayer and study, 




and contrived to receive instruction and baptism by stealth 
from a Christian priest. Dioscorus, on discovering his 
daughter's conversion, was beside himself with rage. He 
himself denounced her before the civil tribunal. Barbara 
was horribly tortured, and at last was hebeaded, her own 



December 5. ] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



555 



father, merciless to the last, acting as her executioner. God, 
however, speedily punished her persecutors. While her 
soul was being borne by angels to Paradise, a flash of light- 
ning struck Dioscorus, and he was hurried before the judg- 
ment-seat of God. 

Reflection. — Pray often against a sudden and unpro- 
vided death; and, above all, that you may be strengthened 
by the Holy Viaticum against the dangers of your last hour. 



DECEMBER 5.-ST. SABAS, ABBOT. 



St. Sabas, one of the most renowned patriarchs of the 
monks of Palestine, was born in the year 439, near Csesarea. 
In order to settle a dispute which had arisen between some 




of his relations, in regard to the administration of his estate, 
while still young, he forsook the world and entered a mon- 
astery, wherein he became a model of fervor. When Sabas 



5 56 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December 6. 



had been ten years in this monastery, being eighteen years 
old, he went to Jerusalem to visit the holy places, and 
attached himself to a monastery then under control of St. 
Euthymius, but on the death of the holy abbot our Saint 
sought the wilderness, where he chose his dwelling in a cave 
on the top of a high mountain, at the bottom of which ran 
the brook Cedron. After he had lived here five years, sev- 
eral came to him, desiring to serve God under his direction. 
He was at first unwilling to consent, but finally founded a 
new monastery of persons all desirous to devote themselves 
to praise and serve God without interruption. His great 
sanctity becoming known, he was ordained priest, at the 
age of fifty-three, by the patriarch of Jerusalem and made 
Superior-General of all the anchorites of Palestine. He 
lived to be ninety-four, and died on the 5th of December, 532. 



DECEMBER 6.— ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI. 

St. Nicholas, the patron Saint of Russia, was born 
toward the end of the third century. His uncle, the Arch- 
bishop of Myra in Lycia, ordained him priest, and appointed 
him abbot of a monastery; and on the death of the arch- 
bishop he was elected to the vacant see. Throughout his 
life he retained the bright and guileless manners of his early 
years, and showed himself a special protector of the inno- 
cent and the wronged. Nicholas once heard that a person 
who had fallen into poverty intended to abandon his three 
daughters to a life of sin. Determined, if possible, to save 
their innocence, the Saint went out by night, and, taking 
with him a bag of gold, flung it into the window of the 
sleeping father and hurried off. He, on awaking, deemed 
the gift a godsend, and with it dowered his eldest child. The 
Saint, overjoyed at his success, made like venture for the 
second daughter; but the third time, as he stole away, the 
father, who was watching, overtook him and kissed his feet, 
saying: " Nicholas, why dost thou conceal thyself from me? 
Thou art my helper, and he who has delivered my soul and 



December 6. J LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



557 



my daughters' from hell." St. Nicholas is usually repre- 
sented by the side of a vessel, wherein a certain man had 
concealed the bodies of his three children whom he had 
killed, but who were restored to life by the Saint. He died 




a.d. 342. His relics were translated in 1807, to Bari, Italy, 
and there, after fifteen centuries, " the manna of St. Nich- 
olas " still flows from his bones and heals all kind of sick. 

Reflection. — Those who would enter heaven must be 
as little children, whose greatest glory is their innocence. 
Now, two things are ours to do: first, to preserve it in our- 
selves, or regain it by penance; secondly, to love and shield 
it in others. 



558 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 7. 



DECEMBER 7.— ST. AMBROSE, BISHOP. 

Ambrose was of a noble family, and was governor of 
Milan a.d. 374, when a bishop was to be chosen for that 
great see. As the Arian heretics were many and fierce, he 
was present to preserve order during the election. Though 




only a catechumen, it was the will of God that he should 
himself be chosen by acclamation; and, in spite of his utmost 
resistance, he was baptized and consecrated. He was un- 
wearied in every duty of a pastor, full of sympathy and char- 
ity, gentle and condescending in things indifferent, but in- 
flexible in matters of principle. He showed his fearless 
zeal in braving the anger of the Empress Justina, by resist- 
ing and foiling her impious attempt to give one of the 
churches of Milan to the Arians, and by rebuking and lead- 
ing to penance the really great Emperor Theodosius, who 
in a moment of irritation had punished most cruelly a sedi- 
tion of the inhabitants of Thessalonica. He was the friend 



December 8.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



559 



and consoler of St. Monica in all her sorrows, and in 387 
he had the joy of admitting to the Church her son, St. Augus- 
tine. St. Ambrose died a.d. 397, full of years and of honors, 
and is revered by the Church of God as one of her greatest 
doctors. 

Reflection. — Whence came to St. Ambrose his gran- 
deur of mind, his clearness of insight, his intrepidity in 
maintaining the faith and discipline of the Church? Whence 
but from his contempt of the world, from his fearing God 
alone? 



DECEMBER 8 THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE 

CONCEPTION. 



On this day, so dear to every Catholic heart, we celebrate, 
in the first place, the moment in which Almighty God showed 




Mary, through the distance of ages, to our first parents as the 
Virgin Mother of the Divine Redeemer, the woman destined 



560 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December 9. 



to crush the head of the serpent. And as by eternal decree 
she was miraculously exempt from all stain of original sin, 
and endowed with the richest treasures of grace and sanctity, 
it is meet that we should honor her glorious prerogatives by 
this special feast of the Immaculate Conception. We should 
join in spirit with the blessed in heaven, and rejoice with our 
dear Mother, not only for her own sake, but for ours, her 
children, who are partakers of her glory and happiness. 
Secondly, we are called upon to celebrate that ever-memo- 
rable day, the 8th of December, 1854, which raised the 
Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Lady from a pious 
belief to the dignity of a dogma of the Infallible Church, caus- 
ing universal joy amongst the faithful. 

Reflection. — Let us repeat frequently these words 
applied by the Church to the Blessed Virgin: " Thou art all 
fair, O, Mary! and there is not a spot in thee.". Cant. 4 : 7. 



DECEMBER 9.— ST. LEOCADIA, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

St. Leocadia was a native of Toledo, and was appre- 
hended by an order of Dacian, the cruel governor under 
Diocletian in 304. Hearing of the martyrdom of St. Eulalia, 
she prayed that God would not prolong her exile, but unite 
her speedily with her holy friend in his glory. Her prayer 
was heard, and she happily expired in prison. Three famous 
churches in Toledo bear her name, and she is honored as 
principal patroness of that city. In one of those churches 
most of the councils of Toledo were held. Her relics were 
kept in that church with great respect, till, in the incursions 
of the Moors, they were conveyed to Oviedo, and some years 
afterward to the abbey of St. Guislain near Mons in Hay- 
nault. They were finally carried back to Toledo with great 
pomp, and placed in the great church there on the 26th of 
April, 1589. 

Reflection. — Were we not blinded by the world, and 
the enchantment of its follies, the near prospect of eternity, 



December to.J LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 




the uncertainty of the hour of our death, and the repeated 
precepts of Christ, would produce in us the same fervent dis- 
positions which they did in the primitive Christians. 



DECEMBER 10.— ST. EULALIA, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

St. Eulalia was a native of Merida, in Spain. She was 
but twelve years old when the bloody edicts of Diocletian 
were issued. Eulalia presented herself before the cruel 
judge Dacianus, and reproached him for attempting to 
destroy souls by compelling them to renounce the only true 
God. The governor commanded her to be seized, and at 
first tried to win her over by flattery, but failing in this, he 
had recourse to threats, and caused the most dreadful instru- 
ments of torture to be placed before her eyes, saying to her: 
" All this you shall escape if you will but touch a little salt 
and frankincense with the tip of your finger." Provoked at 
these seducing flatteries, our Saint threw down the idol, and 
trampled upon the cake which was laid for the sacrifice. At 



562 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December ii. 



the judge's order, two executioners tore her tender sides 
with iron hooks, so as to leave the very bones bare. Next 
lighted torches were applied to her breasts and sides ; under 
which torment, instead of groans, nothing was heard from 




her mouth but thanksgivings. The fire at length catching 
her hair, surrounded her head and face, and the Saint was 
stifled by the smoke and flame. 

Reflection. — The Apostles rejoiced " that they were 
accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus." 
Do we bear our crosses with the same spirit? 



DECEMBER n.— ST. DAMASUS, POPE. 

St. Damasus was born at Rome at the beginning of the 
fourth century. He was archdeacon of the Roman Church 
* n 355> when Pope Liberius was banished to Berda, and fol- 
lowed him into exile, but afterward returned to Rome. On 
the death of Liberius, our Saint was chosen to succeed him. 



December ii.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



563 



Ursinus, a competitor for the high office, incited a revolt, but 
the holy Pope took only such action as was becoming to the 
common father of the faithful. Having freed the Church of 
this new schism, he turned his attention to the extirpation of 
Arianism in the West, and of Apollinarianism in the East, 
and for this purpose he convened several councils. He 
rebuilt the Church of St. Laurence, which to this day is 
known as St. Laurence in Damaso; he made many valuable 




presents to this church, and settled upon it houses and lands 
in its vicimty. He likewise drained all the springs of the 
Vatican, which ran over the bodies that were buried there, 
and decorated the sepulchres of a great number of martyrs 
in the cemeteries, and adorned them with epitaphs in verse. 
Having sat eighteen years and two months, he died on the 
10th of December, in 384, being near fourscore years of age. 



5^4 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [DECEMBER 12. 



DECEMBER 12.— ST. VALERY, ABBOT.— ST. FINIAN, 

BISHOP. 

This Saint was born at Auvergne, in the sixth century, 
and in his childhood kept his father's sheep. He was yet 
young when he took the monastic habit in the neighboring 
monastery of St. Antony. Seeking the most perfect means 




of advancing in the paths of all virtues, he. passed from this 
house to the more austere monastery of St. Germanus of 
Auxerre, and finally to that of Luxeu, where he spent many 
years. He travelled into Neustria, where he converted many 
infidels, and assembled certain fervent disciples, and laid the 
foundation of a monastery. Saint Valery went to receive the 
recompense of his happy perseverance on the 12th of Decem- 
ber in 622. 

St. Finian was a native of Leinster, was instructed in the 
elements of Christian virtue by the disciples of St. Patrick, 
and passed over into Wales; but about the year 520 he 



December 13.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



565 



returned into Ireland. To propagate the work of God, our 
Saint established several monasteries and schools. St. 
Finian was chosen and consecrated bishop of Clonard. In 
the love of his flock and his zeal for their salvation, he was 
infirm with the infirm, and wept with those that wept. He 
healed the souls, and often also the bodies, of those that 
applied to him. He departed to Our Lord on the 12th of 
December in 552. 



DECEMBER 13.— ST. LUCY, VIRGIN, MARTYR. 

The mother of St. Lucy suffered four years from an issue 
of blood, and the help of man failed. St. Lucy reminded her 
mother that a woman in the Gospel had been healed of the 
same disorder. " St. Agatha," she said, " stands ever in the 




sight of Him for whom she died. Only touch her sepulchre 
with faith, and you will be healed. " They spent the night 
praying by the tomb, till, overcome by weariness, both fell 



566 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 14. 



asleep. St. Agatha appeared in vision to St. Lucy, and 
calling her sister, foretold her mother's recovery and her own 
martyrdom. That instant the cure was effected; and in her 
gratitude the mother allowed her daughter to distribute her 
wealth among the poor, and consecrate her virginity to 
Christ. A young man to whom she had been promised in 
marriage, accused her as a Christian to the heathen; but Our 
Lord, by a special miracle, saved from outrage this virgin 
whom He had chosen for His own. The fire kindled around 
her did her no hurt. Then the sword was plunged into her 
heart, and the promise made at the tomb of St. Agatha was 
fulfilled. 

Reflection. — The Saints had to bear sufferings and 
temptations greater far than yours. How did they over- 
come them? By the love of Christ. Nourish this pure love 
by meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life ; and, above all, 
by devotion to the Holy Eucharist, which is the antidote 
against sin and the pledge of eternal life. 



DECEMBER 14.— ST NICASIUS, ARCHBISHOP, AND HIS 
COMPANIONS, MARTYRS. 

In the fifth century an army of barbarians from Germany 
ravaging part of Gaul, plundered the city of Rheims. 
Nicasius, the holy bishop, had foretold this calamity to his 
flock. When he saw the enemy at the gates and in the 
streets, forgetting himself, and solicitous only for his spirit- 
ual children, he went from door to door encouraging all to 
patience and constancy, and awaking in every breast the 
most heroic sentiments of piety and religion. In endeavor- 
ing to save the lives of his flock, he exposed himself to the 
swords of the infidels, who, after a thousand insults and 
indignities, cut off his head. Florens, his deacon, and 
Jocond, his lector, were massacred by his side. His sister 
Eutropia, a virtuous virgin, fearing she might be reserved 
for a fate worse than death, boldly cried out to the infidels, 
that it was her unalterable resolution rather to sacrifice her 



December 15.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



567 



life than her faith or her integrity and virtue. Upon which 
they despatched her with their cutlasses. 




Reflection. — Bear patiently and sweetly bodily suffer- 
ings, and prepare for the day of trial by the courageous 
endurance of the daily crosses incident to your state. 



DECEMBER 15.— ST. MESMIN. 

St. Mesmin was a native of Verdun. The inhabitants of 
that place having proved disloyal to King Clovis, an uncle of 
our Saint's, a priest named Euspice, brought about a recon- 
ciliation between the monarch and his subjects. Clovis, 
appreciating the virtues of Euspice, persuaded him to take up 
his residence at court, and the servant of God took St. 
Mesmin along with him. While journeying to Orleans with 
Clovis, he noticed at about two leagues from the city, beyond 
the Loire, a solitary spot called Micy, which he thought well 
suited for a retreat. Having asked for and obtained the 



568 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December 15. 



place, he with Mesmin and several disciples Jhuilt there a 
monastery, of which he took charge. At his death, which 
happened about two years after, our Saint was appointed 
abbot by Eusebius, bishop of Orleans. During a terrible 
famine, he fed nearly the whole city of Orleans with wheat 
from his monastery, without perceptibly reducing it; he also 




drove an enormous serpent out of the place in which he was 
afterward buried. Having governed his monastery ten 
years, he died as he had lived, in the odor of sanctity, on the 
15th of December, 520. 

Reflection. — Few are called to serve God by great 
actions, but all are bound to strive after perfection in the 
ordinary actions of their daily life. 



December 16.] 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



569 



DECEMBER 16.— ST. EUSEBIUS, BISHOP. 

St. Eusebius was born of a noble family, in the island 
of Sardinia, where his father is said to have died in prison 
for the faith. The Saint's mother carried him and his sister, 
both infants, to Rome. Eusebius having been ordained, 
served the Church of Vercelli with such zeal that on the 
Episcopal chair becoming vacant, he was unanimously 




chosen, by both clergy and people, to fill it. The holy 
bishop saw that the best and first means to labor effectually 
for the edification and sanctification of his people, was to 
have a zealous clergy. He was at the same time very care- 
ful to instruct his flock, and inspire them with the maxims 
of the Gospel. The force of the truth which he preached, 
together with his example, brought many sinners to a change 
of life. He courageously fought against the heretics, who 
had him banished to Scythopolis, and thence to Upper The- 
bais in Egypt, where he suffered so grievously as to win, 



5/o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 17. 



in some of the panegyrics in his praise, the title of martyr. 
He died in the latter part of the year 371. 

Reflection. — The routine of every-day, commonplace 
duties is no hindrance to a free intimacy with God. He will 
disclose His hidden ways to you in proportion as you follow 
your vocation faithfully, whether in the world or the cloister. 



DECEMBER 17.— ST. OLYMPIAS, WIDOW. 

St. Olympias, the glory of the widows in the Eastern 
Church, was of a noble and wealthy family. Left an orphan 
at a tender age, she was brought up by Theodosia, sister of 
St. Amphilochius, a virtuous and prudent woman. Olympias 




insensibly reflected the virtues of this estimable woman. 
She married quite young, but her husband dying within 
twenty days of their wedding, she modestly declined any 
further offer for her hand, and resolved to consecrate her 
life to prayer and other good works, and to devote her for- 



December i 8. j 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



571 



tune to the poor. Nectarius, Archbishop of Constantinople, 
had a high esteem for the saintly widow, and made her a 
deaconess of his church, the duties of which were to prepare 
the altar linen and to attend to other matters of that sort. 
St. Chrysostom, who succeeded Nectarius, had no less re- 
respect than his predecessor for Olympias, but refused to 
attend to the distribution of her alms. Our Saint was one 
of the last to leave St. Chrysostom when he went into ban- 
ishment on the 20th of June. 404. After his departure, she 
suffered great persecution, and crowned a virtuous life by a 
saintly death, about the year 410. 

Reflection. — " Lay not up to yourselves treasures on 
earth, but in heaven, where neither rust nor moth doth con- 
sume." 



DECEMBER 18.— ST. GATIAN, BISHOP. 

St. Gatian came from Rome with St. Dionysius of Paris, 
about the middle of the third century, and preached the 
faith principally at Tours in Gaul, where he fixed his episco- 
pal see. The Gauls in that part were extremely addicted to 
the worship of their idols, but no contradictions or sufferings 
were able to discourage or daunt this true apostle; and by 
perseverance he gained several to Christ. He assembled 
his little flock in grots and caves, and there celebrated the 
divine mysteries. He was obliged often to lie hid in lurk- 
ing holes a long time together in order to escape a cruel 
death, with which the heathens frequently threatened him, 
and which he was always ready to receive with joy if he 
had fallen into their hands. Having continued his labors 
with unwearied zeal amidst frequent sufferings and dangers 
for near the space of fifty years, he died in peace, and w 
honored with miracles. 

Reflection. — God does not ask great sacrifices from 
all; but, in His goodness, He gives us all some things to 




renounce or to suffer for Him, and it is by our loving sub- 
mission to His will that we show ourselves to be Christians. 



DECEMBER 19. — ST. NEMESION, MARTYR, 



In the persecution of Decius, Nemesion, an Egyptian, 
was apprehended at Alexandria upon an indictment for 
theft. The servant of Christ easily cleared himself of that 
charge, but was immediately accused of being a Christian, 
and, after being scourged and tormented more than the 
thieves, was condemned to be burnt with the robbers and 
other malefactors. There stood at the same time near the 
prefect's tribunal four soldiers and another person, who, 
being Christians, boldly encouraged a confessor who was 
hanging on the rack. They were taken before the judge, 
who condemned them to be beheaded; but was astonished 
to see the joy with which they walked to the place of execu- 
tion. Heron, Ater, and Isidore, all Egyptians, with Diosco- 



December 20.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



573 



rus, a youth only fifteen years old, were committed at Alex- 
andria in the same persecution. After enduring the most 
cruel rending and disjointing of their limbs, they were burnt 
alive, with the exception of Dioscorus, whom the judge dis- 
charged on account of the tenderness of his years. 




Reflection. — Can we call to mind the fervor of the 
Saints in laboring and suffering cheerfully for God, and not 
feel a holy ardor glow in our own breasts, and our souls 
strongly affected with their heroic sentiments of virtue? 



DECEMBER 20.— ST. PHILOGONIUS, BISHOP. 

St. Philogonius was educated for the law, and appeared 
at the bar with great success. He was admired for his elo- 
quence, but still more for his integrity and the sanctity of 
his life. This was considered a sufficient motive for dispens- 
ing with the canons, which require some time spent among 
the clergy before a person be advanced to the highest station 



574 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 20. 



in the Church. Philogonius was placed in the see of 
Antioch, upon the death of Vitalis in 318. When Arius 
broached his blasphemies at Alexandria in 318, St. Alexan- 
der condemned him, and sent the sentence in a synodal letter 
to St. Philogonius, who strenuously defended the Catholic 
faith before the assembly of the Council of Nice. In the 
storms which were raised against the Church, first by Maxi- 
min II. and afterward by Licinius, St. Philogonius deserved 




the title of Confessor; he died in the year 322, the fifth of 
his episcopal dignity. 

Reflection. — St. Philogonius had so perfectly re- 
nounced the world, and crucified its inordinate desires in 
his heart, that he received in this life the earnest of Christ's 
Spirit, was admitted to the sacred council of the heavenly 
King, and had free access to the Almighty. A soul must 
here learn the heavenly spirit, and be well versed in the occu- 
pations of the blessed, that hopes to reign with them here- 
after. 



December 21.] LIVES OF THE SAINTb. 



575 



DECEMBER 21.— ST. THOMAS, APOSTLE. 

St. Thomas was one of the fishermen on the Lake of 
Galilee whom Our Lord called to be His Apostles. By 
nature slow to believe, too apt to see difficulties, and to look 
at the dark side of things, he had withal a most sympathetic, 




loving, and courageous heart. Once when Jesus spoke of 
the mansions in His Father's house, St. Thomas, in his sim- 
plicity, asked: " Lord, we know not whither Thou goest, 
and how can we know the way? " When Jesus turned to 
go toward Bethany to the grave of Lazarus, the desponding 
Apostle at once feared the worst for his beloved Lord, yet 
cried out bravely to the rest: " Let us also go and die with 
Him." After the Resurrection, incredulity again prevailed, 
and whilst the wounds of the crucifixion were imprinted 
vividly on his affectionate mind, he would not credit the 
report that Christ had indeed risen. But at the actual sight 
of the pierced hands and side, and the gentle rebuke of his 



576 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 2 2. 



Saviour, unbelief was gone forever; and his faith and ours 
has ever triumphed in the joyous utterance into which he 
broke: " My Lord and my God! " 

Reflection. — Cast away all disquieting doubts, and 
learn to triumph over old weaknesses as St. Thomas did, 
who " by his ignorance hath instructed the ignorant, and 
by his incredulity hath served for the faith of all ages," 



DECEMBER 22.— ST. ISCHYRION, MARTYR. 

Ischyrion was an inferior officer who attended on a 
magistrate of a certain city in Egypt. His master com- 
manded him to offer sacrifice to the idols; and because he 




refused to commit that sacrilege, reproached him with the 
most abusive and threatening speeches. By giving way to 
passion and superstition, the officer at length worked him- 
self up to such a degree of frenzy as to run a stake into the 



December 23.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



577 



bowels of the meek servant of Christ, who, by his patient 
constancy, attained to the glory of martyrdom. 

Reflection. — It is not a man's condition, but virtue, 
that can make him truly great or truly happy. How mean 
soever a person's station or circumstances may be, the road 
to both is open to him; and there is not a servant or slave 
who ought not to be enkindled with a laudable ambition of 
arriving at this greatness, which will set him on the same 
level with the rich and the most powerful. 



DECEMBER 23.— ST. SERVULUS. 



Servulus was a beggar, and had been so afflicted with 
palsy from his infancy that he was never able to stand, sit 
upright, lift his hand to his mouth, or turn himself from one 




side to another. His mother and brother carried him into 
the porch of St. Clement's church at Rome, where he lived on 
the alms of those that passed by. He used to entreat devout 



578 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 2 



persons to read the Holy Scriptures to him, which he heard 
with such attention as to learn them by heart. His time he 
consecrated by assiduously singing hymns of praise and 
thanksgiving to God. After several years thus spent, his 
distemper having seized his vitals, he felt his end was drawing 
nigh. In his last moments he desired the poor and pilgrims, 
who had often shared in his charity, to sing sacred hymns and 
psalms for him. Whilst he joined his voice with theirs, he on 
a sudden cried out: " Silence; do you not hear the sweet 
melody and praise which resound in the heavens? " Soon 
after he spoke these words he expired, and his soul was car- 
ried by angels into everlasting bliss, about the year 590. 

Reflection. — The whole behavior of this poor sick beg- 
gar loudly condemns those who, when blessed with good 
health and a plentiful fortune, neither do good works nor 
suffer the least cross with tolerable patience. 



DECEMBER 24.— ST. DELPHINUS, BISHOP.— SS. THRASILLA 
AND EMILIANA, VIRGINS. 

Little is known of St. Delphinus before his elevation to 
the Episcopate. He assisted at the Council of Saragossa, 
in 330, in which the Priscillianists were condemned, and also 
at the Council of Bordeaux, which condemned the same 
schismatics. He baptized St. Paulerius in 388, and the latter, 
in several letters, speaks of him as his father and his master. 
St. Delphinus died on the 24th of December, 403. 

SS. Thrasilla and Emiliana were aunts of St. Gregory 
the Great. They lived in their father's house as retired as in 
a monastery, far removed from the conversation of men ; and, 
exciting one another to virtue by discourse and example, 
soon made considerable progress in spiritual life. Thrasilla 
was favored one night with a vision of her uncle, St. Felix, 
Pope, who showed her a seat prepared for her in heaven, say- 
ing : " Come ; I will receive you into this habitation of light." 
She fell sick of a fever the next day. When in her agony, 
with her eyes fixed on heaven, she cried out to those that 



December 24.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



579 



were present: " Depart! make room! Jesus is coming! " 
Soon after these words she breathed out her pious soul into 
the hands of God on the 24th of December. A few days 
after she appeared to her sister, Emiliana, and invited her to 




celebrate with her the Epiphany in eternal bliss. Emiliana 
fell sick, and died on the 8th of January. 

Reflection. — We may often think the austerities of the 
Saints are beyond our strength; let us, then, imitate the 
guard they kept over their tongue. This is within the reach 
of all. 



58o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 25, 



DECEMBER 25.— THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST OR CHRIST- 
MAS-DAY. 

The world had subsisted about four thousand years when 
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, having taken human 
flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and being made man, 
was born of her for the redemption of mankind, at Bethlehem 




of Judea. Joseph and Mary had come up to Bethlehem to 
be enrolled, and, unable to find shelter elsewhere, they took 
refuge in a stable, and in this lowly place Jesus Christ was 
born. The Blessed Virgin wrapped the divine Infant in 
swaddling-clothes and laid Him in the manger. Whilst the 
sensual and the proud were asleep, an angel appeared to 
some poor shepherds. They were seized with great fear, but 
the heavenly messenger said to them : " Fear not: for behold 
I bring you good tidings of exceeding great joy, that shall be 
to all the people. For this day is born to you a Saviour, who 
is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a 



December 26.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 58 1 

sign to you: you shall find the child wrapped in swaddling- 
clothes, and laid in a manger." After the departure of the 
angel, the wondering shepherds said to one another: " Let 
us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see the word that is come 
to pass, which the Lord hath showed to us." They imme- 
diately hastened thither, and found Mary and Joseph, and the 
Infant lying in the manger. Bowing down they adored Him, 
and then returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising 
God. 

Reflection. — Our Saviour sanctified our flesh by taking 
it on Himself, and with His last breath He commended us to 
the care of His Virgin Mother. Day by day He still feeds us 
at the altar with the food of incorruption — His Body and His 
Blood. 



DECEMBER 26.— ST. STEPHEN, FIRST MARTYR. 

There is good reason to believe that St. Stephen was one 
of the seventy-two disciples of our Blessed Lord. After the 
Ascension he was chosen one of the seven deacons. The min- 
istry of the seven was very fruitful; but Stephen especially, 
" full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs 
among the people." Many adversaries rose up to dispute 
with him, but " they were not able to withstand the wisdom 
and the spirit that spoke." At length he was brought before 
the Sanhedrim, charged like his Divine Master, with blas- 
phemy against Moses and against God." He boldly 
upbraided the chief priests with their hard-hea-rted resistance 
to the Holy Ghost and with the murder of the " Just One." 
They were stung with anger, and gnashed theii teeth against 
him. But when " filled with the Holy Ghost and looking up 
to heaven, he cried out, ' Behold, I see the heavens opened 
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God/ they 
rushed upon him, and dragging him forth without the city, 
they stoned him to death." 



582 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December 27. 




Reflection. — If ever you are tempted to resentment, 
pray irom your heart for him who has offended you. 



DECEMBER 27.— ST. JOHN, EVANGELIST. 

St. John, the youngest of the Apostles in age, was called 
to follow Christ on the banks of the Jordan during the first 
days of Our Lord's ministry. He was one of the privileged 
few present at the Transfiguration and the Agony in the gar- 
den. At the Last Supper, his head rested on the bosom of 
Jesus, and in the hours of the Passion, when others fled or 
denied their Master, St. John kept his place by the side of 
Jesus, and at the last stood by the Cross with Mary. From 
the Cross the dying Saviour bequeathed His Mother to the 
care of the faithful Apostle, who " from that hour took her to 
his own ; " thus fitly, as St. Austin says, " to a virgin was the 
Virgin intrusted." After the Ascension, St. John lived first 
at Jerusalem, and then at Ephesus. He was thrown by 
Domitian into a cauldron of boiling oil, and is thus reckoned 



December 28.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



583 



a martyr, though miraculously preserved from hurt. After- 
wards he was banished to the isle of Patmos, where he 
received the heavenly visions described in the Apocalypse. 
He died at a great age in peace, at Ephesus, in the year 100. 



Reflection. — St. John is a living example of Our Lord's 
saying, " Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see 
God." 



DECEMBER 28.— THE HOLY INNOCENTS. 

Herod, who was reigning in Judea at the time of the^. 
birth of Our Saviour, having heard that the Wisemen had 
come from the East to Jerusalem in search of the King of the 
Jews, was troubled. He called together the chief priests, and 
learning that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, he told the 
Wisemen: "When you have found Him, bring me word 
again, that I also may come and adore Him." But God 
having warned them in a dream not to return, they went back 



584 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



[December 28. 



to their homes another way. St. Joseph, too, was ordered in 
his sleep to " take the Child and His mother and fly into 
Egypt." When Herod found that the Wisemen did not 
return, he was furious, and ordered that every male child in 
Bethlehem and its vicinity of the age of two and under should 
be slain. These innocent victims were the flowers and the 




first-fruits of His martyrs, and triumphed over the world, 
without having ever known it or experienced its dangers. 

Reflection. — How few perhaps of these children, if they 
had lived, would have escaped the dangers of the world! 
What snares, what sins, what miseries were they preserved 
from! So we often lament as misfortunes many accidents 
which in the designs of heaven are the greatest mercies. 



December 29.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



585 



DECEMBER 29,— ST. THOMAS OF CANTERBURY. 

St. Thomas, son of Gilbert Becket, was born in South- 
ward England, a.d. 1117. When a youth he was attached 
to the household of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
who sent him to Paris and Bologna to study law. He became 




Archdeacon of Canterbury, then Lord High Chancellor of 
England; and in 1160, when Archbishop Theobald died, the 
king insisted on the consecration of St. Thomas in his stead. 
St. Thomas refused, warning the king that from that hour 
their friendship would be broken. In the end he yielded, 
and was consecrated. The conflict at once broke out; St. 
Thomas resisted the royal customs, which violated the liber- 
ties of the Church and the laws of the realm. After six years 
of contention, partly spent in exile, St. Thomas, with full 
foresight of martyrdom before him, returned as a good shep- 
herd to his Church. On the 29th of December, 1 170, just as 

y 



586 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. L December 3 a 



vespers were beginning, four knights broke into the cathe- 
dral, crying: "Where is the archbishop? where is the 
traitor? " The monks fled, and St. Thomas might easily have 
escaped. But he advanced, saying: " Here I am — no traitor, 
but archbishop. What seek you? " " Your life," they cried. 
" Gladly do I give it," was the reply; and bowing his head, 
the invincible martyr was hacked and hewn till his soul went 
to God. Six months later Henry II. submitted to be publicly 
scourged at the Saint's shrine, and restored to the Church 
her full rights. 

Reflection. — " Learn from St. Thomas," says Father 
Faber, " to fight the good fight even to the shedding of 
blood, or, to what men find harder, the shedding of their 
good name by pouring it out to waste on the earth." 



DECEMBER 30.— ST. SABINUS, BISHOP AND HIS COM- 
PANIONS, MARTYRS. 

The cruel edicts of Diocletian and Maximin against the 
Christians, being published in the year 303, Sabinus, bishop 
of Assisium, and several of his clergy, were apprehended and 
kept in custody till Venustianus, the Governor of Etruria and 
Umbria, came thither. Upom his arrival in that city he 
caused the hands of Sabinus, who had made a glorious con- 
fession of his faith before him, to be cut off; and his two 
deacons, Marcellus and Exuperantius, to be scourged, beaten 
with clubs, and torn with iron nails, under which torments 
they both expired. Sabinus is said to have cured a blind boy, 
and a weakness in the eyes of Venustianus himself, who was 
thereupon converted, and afterward beheaded for the faith. 
Lucius, his successor, commanded Sabinus to be beaten to 
death with clubs at Spoleto. The martyr was buried a mile 
from that city; but his relics have been since translated to 
Faenza. 



December 31.] LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 5 8 7 




Reflection. — How powerfully do the martyrs cry out 
to us by their example, exhorting us to despise a false and 
wicked world! 



DECEMBER 31.— ST. SYLVESTER, POPE. 

Sylvester was born in Rome toward the close of the 
third century. He was a young priest when the persecution 
of the Christians broke out under the tyrant Diocletian. 
Idols were erected at the corners of the streets, in the mar- 
ket-places, and over the public fountains, so that it was 
scarcely possible for a Christian to go abroad without being 
put to the test of offering sacrifice, with the alternative 
of apostasy or death. During this fiery trial, Sylvester 
strengthened the confessors and martyrs, God preserving 
his life from many dangers. In 312 a new era set in. Con- 
stantine, having triumphed under the " standard of the 
Cross," declared himself the protector of the Christians, and 



588 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. [December 31 



built them splendid churches. At this juncture, Sylvester 
was elected to the chair of Peter, and was thus the first of 
the Roman Pontiffs to rule the flock of Christ in security 
and peace. He profited by these blessings to renew the dis- 




cipline of the Church, and in two great councils confirmed 
her sacred truths. In the Council of Aries he condemned 
the schism of the Donatists; and in that of Nicsea, the first 
General Council of the Church, he dealt Arianism its death- 
blow by declaring that Jesus Christ is the true and very 
God. Sylvester died a.d. 335. 

Reflection. — Never forget to thank God daily for hav- 
ing made you a member of His undying Church, and grow 
daily in your attachment, devotion, and loyalty to the Vicar 
of Christ. 



APPENDIX 



LIVES OF CERTAIN SAINTS 

CONTAINED IN THE CALENDAR OF SPECIAL FEASTS 
FOR THE UNITED STATES AND OF SOME 
OTHERS RECENTLY CANONIZED 



ST. CLARE OF MONTEFALCO. 

St. Clare was born in 1268, in the little Italian town 
from which she takes her name. Her parents were thor- 
oughly pious people, in moderate circumstances, to whom 
were born two daughters, Johanna, who was the elder, and 
the subject of our sketch. 

While still a child, Johanna, with the consent of her par- 
ents, withdrew to a secluded spot known as St. Leonards, 
where, with other maidens of her own age and disposition, 
she gave herself up to prayer and the service of God, 
although not bound by any rule. From her very infancy 
Clare wished to join her sister, and at the tender age of six 
she actually persuaded her parents to give their consent, 
and was received into the community. 

The community grew so rapidly that St. Leonards was 
soon too small. Accordingly, it was decided to remove to 

589 



59o 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



the summit of St. Catherine's Hill, over which a cross of 
light followed by a procession of prayerful women had been 
once seen in a vision by Johanna. Believing this to be a 
sign from God indicating their new home, the pious women, 
after many obstacles, built an humble monastery on the spot. 
Up to this time the community supported itself partly by its 
own labor and partly by the assistance received from its 
friends; but now they began to feel the want of means of 
subsistence, and finally it was decided that some of the Sis- 
ters should be sent out to beg. The repulses, mortifications, 
and fatigue attendant upon such work attracted Clare, and 
she begged her sister to assign the task to her. Having 
received the necessary permission, she started out with Sis- 
ter Marina for a companion. From house to house she 
went, but always remained at the door, so that of all the 
families which she visited none could say that she ever en- 
tered the house. 

As she walked along, her mind was ever intent on 
heavenly things, and she would often stand for a time as 
though absorbed in ecstasy. Fearing some accident might 
happen to her while in this state, Blessed Johanna forbade 
her to go out again. 

Believing that it would be in every way a benefit, the 
community decided to erect their establishment into a con- 
vent; and having referred the matter to the bishop of their 
diocese, he agreed with them, and gave them the rule of St. 
Augustine. They called their house the Convent of the 
Holy Cross, and elected Johanna as their Abbess. She was 
not to remain long at their head, for in a year from the time 
of her election she passed away to enjoy the reward which 
her labors had earned for her. 

Although only twenty-three years of age, Clare was 
chosen Abbess in her sister's place. The wisdom of their 
choice was at once apparent, for her exemplary life became 
a living rule, encouraging and correcting all and making 
perseverance easy. She was attentive to the bodily needs 
of her community, so that no anxiety on that score might 
interfere with their spirit of prayer. Poverty, the constant 
recollection of God's majesty, devotion to the Passion of 



592 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



Our Lord, love of one's neighbor, and bountiful almsgiving 
were among the practices she endeavored to develop in her 
nuns both by her teaching and example. 

From her tenderest years she had been accustomed to 
meditate with rapt attention on the scenes in the Passion 
of Our Saviour. She had reached the age of thirty-three, 
when one day she felt more than an ordinary attraction for 
this holy exercise; she felt her heart inflamed with the most 
intense feelings of love and compassion, and her soul wholly 
absorbed in the contemplation of those mysteries. Suddenly 
a flood of light deluged the room, and she saw standing be- 
fore her Our Saviour Himself, bearing His Cross. Turning 
towards her, He said that He wished to plant that very Cross 
in her heart; and on the instant not only was the Cross im- 
planted there, but all the mysteries of the Passion were 
impressed upon and depicted in the cavity of that same heart, 
where they remained and still remain to this clay. When 
our Saint died, her body was opened and her heart divided, 
and there, formed by flesh and veins, were found the image 
of Our Crucified Saviour, with the pillar, the crown of thorns, 
the three nails, the lance, and the reed with the sponge. 

By God's dispensation, Clare's reputation for sanctity 
increased. From far and near the people came to see her, 
and to beg her prayers. The sick and dying were carried to 
her, and healed at her touch, and the gift of prophecy was 
granted her. Many learned men, theologians and philos- 
ophers, propounded to her the most abstruse questions, to 
which they received wonderful and correct answers. On 
more than one occasion she was led into disputes with 
heretics, and invariably sent them from her overwhelmed 
with confusion. 

Shortly after Our Lord made for Himself a temple in 
Clare's heart, she formed the resolution of building for Him 
a church in place of the old one of St. Catherine, which the 
poverty of the community had obliged them to use up to that 
time. Relying on God's help and the kindness of friends and 
benefactors, Clare set about the work, and in less than a year, 
to the surprise of every one, the whole church was completed. 
It seemed as though our Saint could never tear herself away 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



593 



from tnis church. There she spent many hours of the day 
and a great part of the night ; thither she caused herself to be 
borne by her religious when she was sick; there she wished 
to breathe her last sigh, and thence wing her flight to heaven. 

August of the year 1308 was now approaching, and with 
it the day of our Saint's life was drawing to a close. Our Lord 
had told her, years before, when the end would come. For 
nearly two years before her death she was confined to her 
bed, leaving it only at rare intervals. When the morning of 
the Feast of the Assumption came, the Saint sent for her 
confessor and made her last sacramental confession. She 
then begged that the holy Viaticum might be brought to her, 
being certain, as she herself predicted and as really happened, 
that she would never receive it again in this life. After 
receiving the Blessed Sacrament, she asked to be left alone, 
so that no earthly object might rob her of a glance or a 
thought, and that she might give free vent to the current of 
her affections. Towards evening she caused the religious to 
be assembled around her, and, after a few short words of 
love and advice, gave them all her blessing. She afterwards 
received Extreme Unction with sentiments becoming a saint, 
amid the tears of her spiritual daughters. During the whole 
of the following day, her time was spent in communion with 
God, and her face assumed such an appearance of health that 
many supposed she was growing better. But it was not to 
be, and in the forenoon of the 17th of August, 1308, those 
about her saw descending swiftly from on high a brilliant 
light which irradiated her countenance. This light shortly 
after took the form of a globe and disappeared, and with it 
departed the pure soul of Clare to enter into the haven of 
everlasting happiness. 

ST. LAURENCE OF BRINDISI. 

This Saint was born July 22, 1559, and from an early age 
showed an inclination for a monastic life. To encourage this 
his pious parents placed him in the Franciscan convent at 
Brindisi. Being left an orphan when quite young, he went 
to Venice, where his uncle, a man of great learning and much 



594 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



interested in our Saint, was Superior of the College of St. 
Mark. When not quite sixteen Laurence was attracted to 
the Capuchins, then m their first fervor, and on February 18, 
1575, he joined that Order. Applying himself diligently to 
study, he became a finished Hebrew scholar." At the close of 
his scholastic career he was ordained a priest. So great was 
the harvest of souls gained by his preaching that Pope 
Clement VIII. called him to Rome to labor for the conver- 
sion of the Jews. His knowledge of the Hebrew text of the 
sacred books was of great help to him in his work; conver- 
sions took place in unexpected numbers, and so continued to 
increase that soon the name of Blessed Laurence became a 
household word throughout Italy. He visited nearly all the 
important cities of Italy, everywhere winning souls to God, 
and continued this missionary journey until he was recalled 
to fill the Chair of Theology. Subsequently he was placed 
in charge of the Convent of the Holy Redeemer at Venice, 
and afterwards made Superior of the house at Bassano. In 
both these positions he showed such great administrative 
ability, that in 1596, when barely thirty years of age, he was 
chosen Provincial of Tuscany. Three years later he was 
elected Provincial of Venice, and returned to that city. 
While in a remote part of the province, making his provincial 
visit he learned that his uncle, who had befriended him when 
an orphan child, was dying at Venice, and, despite the many 
difficulties attending the journey, he hurried back to the 
good old man's bedside, and he remained there until his 
death, when the Saint resumed his provincial visits. 

In 1596 Laurence was named Definitor General, and was 
about to make a visitation of the Capuchin houses through- 
out Sicily, when Pope Clement VIII., at the request of the 
Emperor Rudolph II., ordered him to Germany, there to 
found houses of his Order, in hope of stemming the tide of 
heresy then deluging that kingdom. In this, as in his other 
good works, Laurence was eminently successful, and within 
a year had founded houses in Vienna, Prague, and in Gratz. 

About this time the Turks, under Mahomet III., smarting 
to avenge their defeat at Lepanto, threatened to overrun and 
capture Hungary, and it seemed as if no power could stay 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



595 



them. Germany, sadly disturbed by the Reformation, rent 
by feuds and civil wars, was powerless to resist single-handed. 
At this juncture our Saint appealed to the Catholic and 
Protestant courts, and soon an army of thirty thousand men 
was in the field, ready to meet the infidel invaders. In 
October, 1601, the Turks, numbering from eighty to ninety 
thousand men, crossed the Danube and confronted the Chris- 
tian army, which it was decided dare not risk an engagement. 




But Laurence so fired the hearts of the soldiers that they 
were eager for the battle. Cross in hand, the holy monk 
advanced before the little army, and although so largely out- 
numbered, before nightfall victory perched upon their ban- 
ners. Three days after another battle took place with a 
similar result, and the defeated Turks recrossed the Danube 
with a loss of thirty thousand men. At one time during the 
second battle our Saint was carried into the thickest of the 
fight, and was at once surrounded by the infidels. He was 
rescued, however, by two officers, who remonstrated with 



596 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



him for his rashness and begged him to go to the rear, urging 
that the front was no place for him. " My place is here," was 
his reply, " and here I will stay." And stay he did until the 
fortunes of the day were decided in favor of the Christians. 

His military service ended, Laurence returned to Italy, 
travelling, generally, on foot, and without making himself 
known. He visited Loreto, humbly serving at a Mass said 
in the Holy House. When Easter came he went to Rome, 
and assisted at the General Chapter held there; and when 
the election for General took place he found to his great dis- 
may that, although not fifty-three years of age, he had been 
elected General of the Capuchins, the highest office in his 
Order. 

He at once started out on his official visits, journeying 
through Switzerland, Flanders, France, Spain, and Germany. 
He returned to Italy in 1605, and had reached Naples, when 
he received word of the death of Pope Clement VIII. As 
his term of office expired that year, Laurence hoped to rest 
himself a while: but there was to be no rest for him this side 
of the grave, and he was hurried back to Germany, then in 
a turmoil of agitation. 

The Protestant Union, which had grown out of the vexed 
question of the dukedom of Cleves, was strengthened by an 
alliance with Henry IV. of France, and the Catholics found 
it necessary to band together for self-protection. With the 
consent of Pope Paul V. our Saint appealed in person to 
Philip III. of Spain and his Queen, Margaret, who received 
him with great favor and sent reinforcements to Maximilian, 
Duke of Bavaria, then at the head of the " Holy League," 
or Catholic party. As a result peace ensued, and Duke 
Maximilian is credited with saying that " all Germany and 
all Christendom owe a debt of never-dying gratitude to 
Father da Brindisi, for without him no League could have 
held together." 

At the General Chapter of 161 3 Laurence was appointed 
Definitor General, and was shortly after sent as Visitor to 
the Province of Genoa. On his arrival at Pavia, he sum- 
moned the Provincial Chapter, and its first act was to elect 
him Provincial. He endeavored to draw out of it, but Rome 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



597 



decided that he must accept. One round of uninterrupted 
labor followed. He was everywhere sought for both by 
princes and people. Some idea of the love felt for our Saint 
may be formed from what took place on his last visit to 
Milan. He was obliged at frequent intervals to mount the 
pulpit and give his blessing to the vast crowds that came 
from far and near to hear and see him, and as he left the 
city the people gathered round him, weeping and clamoring 
for one more blessing, until at last he was obliged to turn 
back; mounting the highest step in front of the church, he 
drew from his neck the cross he always wore, and with it 
blessed them. " Bless the shepherd as well as his flock/' 
cried the Archbishop, Cardinal Borromeo, brother of St. 
Charles; and kneeling humbly with the people, he, too, re- 
ceived our Saint's blessing. 

The General Chapter, held June i, 1618, gave Laurence 
permission to visit Brindisi, his native place, which he had 
not seen since his childhood. On his way he stopped at 
Naples, and at the urgent request of the Cardinal and the 
highest men of the place, he undertook a mission to King 
Philip, who was then at Lisbon. He had hardly reached 
that place when he was taken ill; and on July 22, 1619, his 
busy life was brought to a close, and he was enabled to enjoy 
the rest he had so long yearned for. His penances, his vir- 
tues, and his miracles are now part of the history of the 
Church for which he so long and successfully labored. 



ST. BENEDICT JOSEPH LABRE. 

This holy servant of God, the son of pious parents, was 
born March 26, 1748, at Amettes, near Boulogne, in France. 
His uncles, both on his father's and his mother's side, were 
parish-priests, one at the neighboring village of Erin, and 
the other at Pesse, which was also quite near Amettes. 

At the time of our Saint's birth, a pestilence of irreligion 
was ravaging France, but the simple faith and humble lives 
of his parents preserved them from its contagion. The love 
they lavished on Benedict was repaid with affection and 



59 8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



obedience; indeed, the latter was a distinguishing trait of 
the boy's character. At one time the priest in charge of the 
school which he attended intentionally charged our Saint 
with a fault he had not committed, in order to test his obedi- 
ence. The boy declared his innocence; whereon the priest, 
pretending to be angry, accused him of lying, and sent him 
out for punishment. Benedict made no further defence, but 
was preparing to receive his punishment, instead of which 
he met with words of encouragement and approval. 

From his childhood, religious instruction always found 
in our Saint an earnest listener: he served Mass with a devo- 




tion that was remarkable, went frequently to confession, and 
followed with close attention the ceremonies of the various 
devotions. Even then he was anxious to forsake the world 
and serve God in solitude. His mother, wishing to dis- 
courage what she considered a mere childish fancy, told him 
he would be likely to suffer for want of proper food; but 
with a wisdom beyond his years, he answered that the her- 
mits of old lived on roots and herbs, and he could do the 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



599 



same. " But," retorted his mother, " men were stronger 
then than now." "Ah," replied the Saint, " God's grace is 
always strong; and if He supported His servants then, why 
not now? " Meanwhile he would often sleep on the bare 
floor with a log for his pillow, and frequently denied himself 
food. 

At the age of twelve he went to live with his uncle, the 
priest at Erin, a saintly man, who took upon himself the 
religious education of the boy, sending him to a neighboring 
school for his Latin and other studies. Benedict's amia- 
bility and docility soon endeared him to his uncle and his 
teacher, and he was progressing excellently in his studies, 
when he suddenly evinced a distaste for them which he strove 
in vain to conquer. Do what he would, he could not revive 
his old love for his books. One thought filled his mind; one 
study alone attracted him: how to do God's will, how best 
to serve Him. His uncle, who had counted on seeing our 
Saint ordained and assisting him in the care of the parish, 
was greatly disappointed when Benedict, now about sixteen 
years old, announced his intention of joining the Trappists, 
the most rigorous Order in their vicinity. But the good 
old man was not to worry long, for about this time an epi- 
demic carried off many of the inhabitants of Erin, and among 
them the faithful pastor, who sacrificed his life for his flock. 

Sad in heart, Benedict returned home, where he contin- 
ued his life of self-denial and penance. Finally, it was 
settled that he should take up his residence with his other 
uncle at Pesse. It was soon evident, however, that our 
Saint's heart was set on a religious life; and after staying a 
few months with his uncle, he, with the consent of his par- 
ents, started for La Tra'ppe. Although the distance was 
more than one hundred and fifty miles, he made the journey 
on foot, over bad roads and in severe weather, and reached 
the convent, weary and more than half sick, only to be re- 
jected. He was in rags and half dead from exposure and 
want of food when he arrived home. 

Nowise disheartened, he no sooner recovered his 
strength than he essayed once more to gain admittance to 
a monastery, but was again refused. Finally, after being 



6oo 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



rejected five times in all by one or another religious Order, 
he became convinced that Almighty God willed that he 
should leave his home and country and journey on foot as 
a pilgrim to the sanctuaries of Europe. And so he started 
out. He had no money, nor did he ask for any. His food 
was bread that was given to him, vegetables, fruit-parings, 
or any refuse he might find in the street. His clothes were 
filthy rags, fastened about his waist by knotted ropes. Liv- 
ing this self-imposed penance, separated from society and 
the charity of those whom he feared might win him from 
his love for God, he made eleven journeys to the Holy House 
of Loreto, besides those to other pilgrimages. 

The Lent of 1783 found him in Rome, sick and worn out 
by his continued journeyings. On Wednesday of Holy 
Week, April 16th, his enfeebled body gave way, and he fell 
fainting on the steps of a church. A butcher who had always 
taken an interest in the Saint, seeing him in this state, had 
him borne to his home, where at eight o'clock in the eve- 
ning, just as the church-bells rang out the Salve Regina, his 
pure soul passed away, his pilgrimage was ended, and he 
was at rest in his Father's house. 

That night the cry rang through Rome, " The Saint is 
dead." People who shrunk from him living came eagerly to 
look on his face in death, and the rags which, before, all 
loathed, were now begged as relics. 

It is worthy of note that the light of faith was granted one 
of our earliest American converts, the Rev. John Thayer, 
a Protestant minister of Boston, while investigating the 
miracles related of our Saint. Mr. Thayer was in Rome at 
the time of the Saint's death, and being in the company of 
some English friends, the alleged miracles were discussed. 
The Protestants disbelieved them and sneered at them, but a 
Catholic who was present offered to wager that no one of the 
company would dare honestly to investigate them. As a 
Protestant minister, Mr. Thayer felt bound to accept the 
wager. He began the investigation in good faith, and as his 
reward he became a Catholic and a priest. 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



601 



ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE ROSSI. 

St. John Baptist de Rossi is the first instance in modern 
times of the canonization as Confessor of a priest belonging 
to no religious Order or Congregation. He was born at 
Voltaggio, a little town about fifteen miles north of Genoa, 
February 22, 1698. From the first he was distinguished for 
his piety and purity. The parish church was his favorite 
resort, and thither he would hasten after the early morning 
class to serve as many Masses as he could. The gravity and 
modesty he showed in holy places struck all who saw him, 
and many declared he was like a little angel just come down 
from heaven and still full of the vision of God. 

When our Saint was ten years old, a wealthy couple of 
Genoa visited Voltaggio ; attracted by the unaffected piety 
and winning ways of the boy, they obtained from his parents 
permission to adopt him, and took him to their palace, where 
he was treated as their son. 

After a residence of three years in Genoa, he removed, 
with his mother's consent, — his father having died in the 
mean while, — to Rome, where his cousin, Laurence de Rossi, 
was the Canon of S. Maria in Cosmedin. There he began 
at once to attend the lower classes of the Roman College, 
and there was no more industrious or saintly student to be 
found. At the age of eighteen he received the tonsure, and 
the following year minor orders. He was then selected for a 
lengthened course of scholastic theology; but in striving to 
purify his soul he overtaxed his strength, and one day, while 
devoutly hearing Mass, he fell on the floor of the church in a 
swoon. From that time out he was subject to epileptic fits, 
which rendered his projected studies impracticable. 

This being the case, our Saint looked elsewhere. A 
course of lectures on the text of St. Thomas, then being 
delivered, was attracting no little attention, and a large num- 
ber of students attended. As the labor of following the 
course was comparatively light, John Baptist joined the class. 
In spite of his feeble health he applied himself most indus- 



602 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



triously, and still practised such mortifications as were pru- 
dent. Walking along the streets, his eyes were never raised 
from the ground, and in the coldest weather he wore no 
gloves. 

When he was twenty-three years old he was ordained a 
priest. The first shape his charity assumed was an active 
interest in the young students who flock to Rome from every 
part of the Catholic world. He organized special services 
for them, preached sermons specially suited to them, and 
gathered them about him in his visits to the hospitals, to 
assist him in soothing and relieving the sick and dying. This 
charitable work over, they would enter a church and* recite 
the. Rosary aloud, after which they would enjoy themselves at 
some innocent game. 

Another charity which attracted our Saint was the spir- 
itual care of the drovers and cattlemen who frequented the 
market-places. The most of these were ignorant and de- 
praved, caring for no one and with no one to care for them. 
By visiting their haunts at early dawn, before their work 
began, John Baptist won them by his kind words, and at last 
led many to the confessional who had not been there in years, 
and some who had never been. Hitherto he had not heard 
confessions himself, but now, at the instance of his bishop, he 
applied for and received faculties for the administration of 
the Sacrament of Penance. 

In February, 1735, John Baptist, much against his own 
inclination, was appointed assistant to his cousin, Laurence 
de Rossi, who was growing feeble ; and when, two years after, 
that good man died, his property and canonry were left to 
our Saint. Within a fortnight the new Canon of Santa Maria 
in Cosmedin had got rid of a great part of the property. He 
entered upon the duties of his new office at once, and soon 
gathered round him crowds of devout worshippers. His 
confessional was besieged by eager penitents, but always the 
poorest and most ignorant. The rich and noble he managed 
to put off, saying they could find confessors in plenty. He 
would never permit the confessional to be a medium for alms- 
giving. He himself would not bestow an alms from that 
tribunal on a penitent, no matter how poor, nor would he 



604 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



there accept a present from the rich, as he feared it might 
deter him from speaking plainly and freely. 

His devotion to the poor and ignorant was remarkable. 
He sought out the most abject and abandoned people, and 
pursued this work of Christian charity with such zeal as to 
merit the title of " Venator Animarum," the hunter of souls. 

In 1740, when Pope Benedict XIV. determined to insti- 
tute catechism classes for the" instruction of criminals serving 
short sentences, he found an able assistant in our Saint. He 
had no difficulty in winning the hearts of the convicts from 
the start, and there was a perceptible reformation wrought in 
a short time. 

The endless labor and the severe penances which the 
Saint imposed on himself finally told on his delicate frame, 
and on May 23, 1764, a stroke of apoplexy ended his mortal 
life, and brought him the endless bliss of the presence of God, 
for which his soul had so long yearned. 

After the death of the holy man many miracles bore wit- 
ness to his sanctity. Among others was the case of Sister 
Mary Theresa Leonori, of the Convent of St. Cecilia at 
Rome, who in 1859 suffered from a throat disease which the 
best medical authorities pronounced incurable. Wasted and 
enfeebled by her sickness, entirely deprived of speech, suffer- 
ing great pain, and unable to partake of any nourishment, 
her death was momentarily looked for. Human aid failing 
her, the pious Sister besought the help of St. John Baptist, 
and Our Lord, to show His love for His faithful servant, 
deigned to work a miracle at the Saint's intercession. Sister 
Mary Theresa was instantly cured and rose from her bed of 
suffering a well woman. 

ST. GABRIEL OF THE SORROWFUL MOTHER. 

In Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother (1838-1861) we have 
a child of our own time. He is one of those hidden and 
unspectacular saints who arrived at real spiritual greatness 
by the constant display of a morale which, soldier-like, would 
be satisfied with nothing less than complete victory over 
self and the world, 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



605 



In his early youth, Possenti, though carefully reared, was 
inordinately vain and passionately devoted to the pleasures 
of the world. Hence it is little wonder that his teachers and 
companions were incredulous when he announced that he 
would enter the Passionist Order immediately upon his gradu- 
ation. 

His life in religion was one of love throughout — joyous 
love, made all the sweeter by the penances prescribed by his 
rule, which he fulfilled to the letter. There was nothing 
extraordinary about him except his fidelity to prayer, his love 
of mortification and his joyfulness of spirit. At the age of 
twenty-three, just as he was finishing his studies, he was 
stricken with consumption, of which he died at Isola on 
February 27, 1862, His feast is February 27, 



ST. PHILIP OF JESUS, MARTYR, PATRON OF THE CITY 

OF MEXICO. 

Philip de las Casas was born in the city of Mexico, 
where his parents settled after setting out for the New 
World from Illescas, in Spain. They were earnest in all 
their religious duties and brought up their family piously, 
two sons entering the Augustinian Order, one to die by the 
hands of the heathen. Philip at first showed little care for 
the pious teaching of his parents and the example of his 
brethren, but at last he, too, resolved to forsake the world, 
and entered the Reformed Franciscan Convent of Santa Bar- 
bara at Pueblo. He was not yet weaned from the world 
and its vanities, and soon left the novitiate. Grieved at the 
inconstancy of his son, Alonso de las Casas sent him to the 
Philippine Islands with a large stock of goods and money to 
make purchases. In vain did Philip seek to satisfy his heart 
with pleasure. He could not but feel that God called him 
to a religious life. Gaining courage by prayer, he entered 
the Franciscan Convent of Our Lady of the Angels at 
Manila, and persevered, taking his vows in 1594. His novi- 
tiate had produced a great spirit of poverty, obedience, and 
prayer, and he sought by austerity to atone for the errors 
of his youth. As infirmarian, Brother Philip of Jesus beheld 



6o6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



Our Lord in the person of the sick, and attended them with 
holy care. The richest cargo that he could have sent to 
Mexico would not have gratified his pious father as much 
as the tidings that Philip was a professed friar. Alonso de 
las Casas obtained from the Commissary of the Order direc- 
tions that Philip should be sent to Mexico. He embarked 
on the St. Philip in July, 1596, with other religious. Storms 
drove the vessel to the coast of Japan, and it was wrecked 
while endeavoring to enter a port. Amid the storm Philip 
saw over Japan a white cross, in the shape used in that coun- 
try, which after a time became blood-red, and remained so 
for some time. It was an omen of his coming victory. The 
commander of the vessel sent our Saint and two other reli- 
gious to the emperor to solicit permission to continue their 
voyage, but they could not obtain an audience. He then 
proceeded to Meaco to a house of his Order, to seek the 
influence of the Fathers there; but the pilot of the vessel by 
idle boasts had excited the emperor's fears of the Christians, 
and the heathen ruler resolved to exterminate the Catholic 
missionaries. In December, officers seized a number of the 
Franciscan Fathers, three Jesuits, and several of their young 
pupils. St. Philip was one of those arrested while they were 
in the choir singing the office. Philip bore with heroic 
patience the insults of the rabble who assailed the martyrs 
on their way to prison, and heard with holy joy that sen- 
tence of death had been passed on them all. His left ear 
was cut off, and he offered this first-fruits of his blood to 
God for the salvation of that heathen land. The martyrs 
were led through the streets of several towns with inscrip- 
tions declaring the cause of their death. The twenty-six at 
last reached Nangasaki, where crosses had been erected on 
a high hill near the bay. When St. Philip was led to that 
on which he was to die, he knelt down and clasped it, ex- 
claiming: " O happy ship! O happy galleon for Philip, lost 
for my gain! Loss — no loss for me, but the greatest of all 
gain! " He was bound to the cross, but the rest under him 
gave way, so that he was strangled by the cords. While 
repeating the holy name of Jesus he was the first of the 
happy band to receive the death-stroke, a lance being driven 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



607 



across through his body to the right shoulder, then another 
to the left, a third stroke being given to assure his death. 
The Spanish and Japanese Christians who witnessed his tri- 
umph caught his blood in their hats and in cloths to preserve 
as relics. Miracles attested the power before God of these 
first martyrs of Japan, and Pope Urban VIII. granted per- 
mission to say an Office and Mass in their honor, and Pope 
Pius IX. formally canonized them. The devotion to St. 
Philip of Jesus in his native city and throughout Mexico has 
always been very great. A church and a convent of Capu- 
chin nuns are dedicated to him. His feast was in Spanish 
times kept with great solemnity in New Mexico, Texas, and 
California, and a settlement in Arizona bore his name. 

St. Philip died at the age of twenty-five. He is an ex- 
ample to encourage those who falter in the path of God's 
service; his prayers will aid those who are tempted, and 
enable them to acquire strength to recover lost ground, and 
go on with renewed courage in the narrow way of the Cross. 

ST. TURRIBIUS ARCHBISHOP OF LIMA. 

Turribius Alphonsus Mogrobejo was born on the 
6th of November, 1538, at Mayorga, in the kingdom of 
Leon in Spain. Brought up in a pious family, where devo- 
tion was hereditary, his youth was a model to all who knew 
him. A tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin and a love 
of the poor marked this boy. He recited the Rosary and 
the Little Office every day, and fasted every Saturday in 
honor of the Mother of God. As a schoolboy he gave away 
his own food to relieve the poor. His life as a student at 
Valladolid and Salamanca showed no relaxation from his 
early spirit of prayer. All his leisure was given to devotion 
or to works of charity. His austerities were great, and he 
frequently made long pilgrimages on foot. The fame of 
Turribius as a master of canon and civil law soon reached 
the ears of King Philip II., who made him judge at Granada. 
That monarch marked the exalted virtue and ability of Mo- 
grobejo. About that time the see of Lima, in Peru, fell 



6o8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



vacant, and among those proposed Philip found no one who 
seemed better endowed than our Saint with all the qualities 
that were required at that city, where much was to be done 
for religion. He sent to Rome the name of the holy judge, 
and the Sovereign Pontiff confirmed his choice. Turribius 
in vain sought to avoid the honor, and wrote a long treatise, 
which he forwarded to Rome, to show how irregular it was 
to appoint a layman to such a position. The Pope, in reply, 
directed him to prepare to receive holy orders and be con- 
secrated. King Philip was equally deaf to his appeals. 
Yielding at last by direction of his confessor, he prepared 
by a long retreat to receive minor orders and the subdeacon- 
ship and deaconship. Then he was ordained priest and 
consecrated. He entered Lima in 1587, and entered on his 
duties. All was soon edification and order in his episcopal 
city. A model of all virtue himself, he confessed daily and 
prepared for Mass by long meditation. The influence of 
the holy man was soon felt. St. Turribius then began a 
visitation of his vast diocese, which he traversed three times, 
his first visitation lasting seven years and his second four. 
He held provincial councils, adopting decrees framed with 
such wisdom that his regulations were adopted in many 
countries. St. Turribius preached, catechized, and con- 
firmed far and wide; he held diocesan synods, and encour- 
aged his bishops to do the same. Almost his entire rev- 
enues were bestowed on his creditors, as he styled the poor, 
and he bore with intrepid patience the vexatious opposition 
raised to many of his reforms, maintaining the liberties of 
the Church with apostolical courage. While discharging 
with zeal his duties of priest and bishop, he was seized with 
a fatal illness during his third visitation, and died on the 23d 
of March, in the year 1666, at Santa, exclaiming, as he re- 
ceived the sacred Viaticum: " I rejoiced in the things that 
were said to me: ' We shall go into the house of the Lord.' " 
His holy, austere, and devoted life had made the people 
regard him as a saint and a constant benefactor. They 
regarded him now as their patron in heaven, and miracles 
rewarded their faith. The proofs of his holy life and of the 
favors granted through his intercession induced Pope Inno- 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



609 



cent XL to beatify him, and he was canonized by Pope 
Benedict XIII. in the year 1726. 

Saint Turribius was a model for all states — as a holy 
youth, as a pious and zealous layman, as a great and exem- 
lary bishop. 

ST. FRANCIS SOLANO. 

The diocese of Cordova, in Spain, was the birthplace of 
this Saint, who won many thousands of souls to God. From 
his earliest years he was characterized by a modest behavior, 
prudent silence, and edifying meekness. While still very 
young he was always able to effect a reconciliation between 
the most bitter enemies. Once when he came upon two 
Spaniards who were engaged in deadly strife, he threw him- 
self between them, and kneeling down, prayed with so much 
fervor that the fierce combatants sheathed their daggers and 
became reconciled to one another. 

His education was intrusted to the Jesuit Fathers, but 
his desire to follow the poor and humble Jesus in perfect 
poverty and humility induced him to enter the Order of St. 
Francis. Soon he excelled every one in the house in humil- 
ity, obedience, fervor in prayer, and self-denial. Sometimes 
he would pass the entire night on his knees before the taber- 
nacle. If he saw a religious zealous for God's honor and 
love, he would say to him: " Brother, let us see which of us 
can show Jesus more proofs of love, fervor, and self-denial 
during this week." 

After his ordination he preached the Word of Godwin 
simple, unadorned language, but with so much fervor and 
heart-felt emotion, that those among his numerous audience 
who had been travelling on the broad road of vice abandoned 
it, and entered upon the narrow path of a virtuous life. 

He was no less zealous in deed than in word; for when 
the pestilence was raging in Granada he was untiring and 
fearless in his service to the plague-stricken inhabitants, 
tending the sick and dying with such assiduous and, as it 
were, maternal care, that the wondering people praised God 



6io 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



for the visible protection He manifested towards His ser- 
vant. 

In the year 1589 he sailed for South America to preach 
the Gospel to the Indians in Peru. On the same vessel with 
him were six hundred negro slaves. While still at some 
distance from shore the ship struck a ledge of rocks, and the 
danger of drowning was imminent. 

The captain hurried the officers and principal passengers 
into the only boat there was, and tried to induce the mis- 
sionary to accompany them; but he refused to do so in 
these terms: " Sir, you have done your duty; now I shall 
do mine. I stay here." He then consoled the remaining 
passengers, directing their thoughts to heaven. He knelt 
down with them and prayed fervently, exhorting those who 
had been baptized, instructing those who were not, and com- 
forting all. Meanwhile the vessel was sinking, and the 
passengers trembled with fear; but not so the zealous mis- 
sionary. He alone kept up his hope in God's mercy. Thus 
three dreadful days were passed, until at last the captain 
came with the life-boat and all were taken off in safety. 

The missionary did not confine his ministry to Lima. He 
visited the forests and deserts inhabited by the Indians, who 
were cruel and bloodthirsty by nature, and who hated the 
Spaniards because they had oftentimes been cruelly treated 
by them. 

But God protected His fearless servant, to whom He had 
given the gifts of eloquence and power over wild beasts. 
Lions, tigers, and snakes obeyed him, and the birds perched 
on his shoulders, singing with him the praises of God. By 
degrees he won the trust of the Indians, who marvelled at 
his kindness; they listened to his instruction, allowed him 
to baptize them, and followed him as grateful children follow 
their father. 

In this way nine thousand Indians were converted, and 
everything was in the most promising condition when the 
missionary was recalled by an order from his Superior to 
Lima, which at that time was like the godless city of Ninive. 
Francis preached with great effect to the hardened sinners. 
He carried his mission everywhere — in the public streets, 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS. 



611 



into the shameless theatres and gambling-dens, where, cross 
in hand, he frightened the evil-doers by the might of his 
words, which echoed like the trumpet-sounds of the last 
judgment. The result of his labors was that the whole city 
became converted. 

He wrought many miracles on the sick and sorrowful, 
but was in himself the greatest miracle of all. Ever busy, 
humble, joyful, and never uttering a single useless word, in 
his leisure time he composed songs to the Christ-child and 
His blessed Mother, and sung them, to the accompaniment 
of his violin, so sweetly that his hearers were enraptured. 

His love of his neighbor was unbounded. He never 
thought evil of any one, and put a good construction on 
every action, even when persecuted, calumniated, and held 
in suspicion by his religious brethren. 

The proverb, " As our life is, so shall be our death," was 
fulfilled in Francis' case. In his last painful sickness he 
prayed thus: " O Jesus! how do I deserve such grace! Thou 
wert nailed to the cross, and I am served by my brethren; 
Thou wert stripped of Thy clothes, and I am well covered; 
Thou didst receive blows, and I only receive good things, 
O my God." 

His last words were, " God be praised! " after uttering 
which his soul departed this earth on July 14, 1610. His 
remains were honored by a grand funeral, and he was de- 
clared Blessed by Pope Clement X. in 1675, and canonized 
by Benedict XIII. in 1726. 



6l2 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



ST. JOAN OF ARC 

At Domremy, on the Upper Meuse, was born on January 
6, 1412, of pious parentage, the illustrious heroine of all time, 
St. Joan of Arc. Taught by her mother from earliest years 
to pray each night "O God, save France," she could not help 
but conceive the ardent love for her country which later con- 
sumed her life. While the English were overrunning the north 




of FYance, their future conqueror, untutored in worldly wis- 
dom, was peacefully tending her flock, and learning the wis- 
dom of God at a wayside shrine. 

But hearing voices from heaven and bidden by St. Michael, 
who appeared to her, to deliver her country from the enemy, 
she hastened to the King and told him that she had been sent 
by God to help him and his realm. The King, however, was 
reluctant in accepting her services and delayed in making a 
decision. Still, he proceeded to thoroughly investigate her 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



613 



character and had her placed under the most watchful scrutiny 
of Churchmen and counselors. But they found nothing except 
records of purity, piety, humility and devotion to the cause to 
which she believed herself to have been called by God. 

At last after much deliberation and further delays she was 
entrusted with the leadership of the Army. Scarcely did her 
banner, inscribed "Jesus, Mary," appear on the battlefield than 
she raised the siege of Orleans and led Charles VII to be 
crowned at Rheims. But many difficulties arose and her 
further course was much hampered by the actions of the 
King who would not follow her advice and at last entirely 
abandoned her to the enemy. Having fallen into the hands of 
the English who gave her a mock trial she was falsely accused, 
adjudged guilty and finally burnt at the stake as a heretic. But 
God is just, for after almost five hundred years, the maid of 
France has taken her rightful place in the ranks of the Church 
Triumphant, the beauty of her holiness and virtue are revealed 
and she has been placed on the calendar of Saints. It was 
Pius X of saintly memory who first elevated her among the 
Blessed and she was canonized on May 13, 1920, by Pope 
Benedict XV. 



ST. ROCH, Confessor 

The date of the birth of St. Roch can not be determined 
with exactness, but it is said that he was born about 1295, at 
Montpellier. His father held a position of power and influence 
in the city. After the death of his parents, when he was about 
twenty years of age, the young man had no inclination to take 
his father's position, but handed over the government to his 
uncle. He then distributed his wealth to the poor and set out 
on a journey to Italy. At that time many people were afflicted 
with the plague, and the young man, dressed as a pilgrim, de- 
voted his time, energy, and prayers to the care of those who 
had been stricken. Wherever he went the plague disappeared 
before him, due to the fact that God gave him the power of 
working miracles in behalf of those who were suffering from 
the terrible disease. Having contracted the malady himself, 
from which he recovered in the course of time, the young man 
went back to his own city in the year 1322. Not wishing to 
make himself known, he was cast into prison as a spy and died 



614 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



there five years later in the year 1327. When his identity be- 
came known from some papers in his possession, he was 
accorded a public funeral, which was the occasion of numerous 
miracles. 

The relics of St. Roch are venerated at Venice, and the 
Church has established an arch-confraternity in his house. His 
feast is celebrated on the 16th of August. 



ST. JOHN BERCHMANS, Confessor 

St. John Berchmans, whose feast is celebrated August 13, 
was born at Diest on the 13th of March, 1599. Having been 
blessed by God with good parents, they watched over their 
young son during the early years of his life, and endeavored 
to form within him a character that would be pleasing in the 
sight of God, and loved by men. That God blessed their work 
we can learn from those who came in close contact with him 
during life. His parish priest, M. Emmerick, observing him 
as a little boy of seven years, said that God "would work won- 
ders in the soul of the child." 

The truth of this remark was soon to become evident to 
all. The future saint showed effects of God's grace within his 
soul by his tender devotion to and care of his mother, who was 
much afflicted by sickness, when John was but nine years of 
age. His tender piety was exercised toward his youthful 
companions, among whom he acted as a leader, always making 
use of every opportunity to teach them to become good and 
holy in God's sight. The youth's devotion and anxiety to 
serve Mass, to listen to and profit by instructions and ser- 
mons, his love for the recitation of the Rosary and the making 
of pilgrimages to Montaigue were well-known facts in his 
early life. 

On reaching the proper age, he entered the Jesuit College 
at Mechlin, and completed his course of studies up to and 
including rhetoric. His life as a student at college, aside 
from his studies, was a continuation and an increase of the 
works of piety he performed as a boy. Being now ready to 
begin the study of philosophy, he decided that he had a voca- 
tion to enter the Society of Jesus. After overcoming some 
opposition on the part of his family, he entered the novitiate at 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



6l 5 



Mechlin on September 24, 1616. Spending two years at Mech- 
lin, where he made simple vows, he was at last sent to Ant- 
werp to begin the study of philosophy. Remaining at Antwerp 
only a short time, he set out on foot for Rome and arrived 
there on the 31st of December, 1618. After studying philo- 
sophy for three years, he was selected by one of his superiors 
to take part in a certain public disputation. Before the dis- 
putation was ended the young man became ill and died on 
the 13th of August, 1621. 

John Berchman's life as a member of the Society of Jesus 
was most exemplary and exact, particularly in the observance 
of the rules of his Order. It was in this way that the future 
saint of God's Church raised himself by the grace of God to 
practise virtue in a heroic degree, and on account of which 
he was canonized a saint in the year 1888 by Pope Leo XIII. 



ST. RITA OF CASCIA, Widow 

St. Rita of Cascia, whose feast is celebrated on May 22, 
was born at Rocca Porena in the diocese of Spoleto and the 
province of Umbria, Italy, about the year 1386, and died at 
Cascia in the year 1456. Being the daughter of parents who 
were advanced in years, she met with much opposition when 
she made known her intention of becoming a nun. Yielding 
to their entreaties, she married a man, who, in a short time, 
lost his reputation on account of his cruelty. After converting 
him from his wicked ways, he was murdered by an enemy. 
Rita's two sons resolved to take revenge, but through her 
prayers they repented of their sins and were taken away by 
death. Left alone in the world, she applied several times for 
admission into the Augustinian Convent at Cascia. Refusal to 
receive her followed every application, until God Himself 
cleared away all obstacles and she entered the convent, made 
her profession and lived the life of a holy and devout Religious 
for forty-two years, "a shining example of every Christian vir- 
tue, pure as a lily, simple as a dove, and obedient as an angel." 

That "God is wonderful in His saints" is easily proved in 
the life of St. Rita. On one occasion Rita requested a rose to 
be brought to her from her garden at Porena in the midst of 
winter. The rose was found in full bloom. At another time 



6i6 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



she asked for a fig, and the same was found. The report of 
these wonders spread far and wide, and people flocked to the 
convent from all parts of Europe, only to receive in return 
for their faith in God through the prayers of Rita many spir- 
itual and temporal favors. 

Owing to the great number of miracles wrought by St. 
Rita, she is often styled "The Saint of the Impossible. " The 
Church has placed her stamp of approval on these miracles of 
St. Rita and has raised her to the dignity of the altar by 
canonizing her a saint of God on the 24th of May, 1900. 



ST. LEONARD OF PORT MAURICE, Confessor 

St. Leonard of Port Maurice was born on the 20th of De- 
cember, 1676, at Porto Maurizio, Italy. His family name was 
Casanova. His early studies were made in a Jesuit college in 




the city of Rome. Knowing that his vocation was to serve 
God as a Religious, he joined the Riformella, a society similar 
to the Friars Minor, introduced into Italy by Blessed Bona- 
venture of Barcelona in 1662. He received the habit in 1697, 
and after making his novitiate was sent to the principal house 
at Rome to complete his studies. After his ordination he 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



617 



suffered from ill health for a period of four years, during which 
time his superiors kept him in a monastery of the Franciscan 
Observants in his native city. Upon his recovery, he began 
the work of giving missions, which he continued throughout 
his life. His first missions were given in his native city. From 
there he went into Tuscany, and his efforts in recalling sin- 
ners to penance were blessed by God with many noted and 
remarkable conversions. His missionary labors took him to 
all parts of Italy and the islands, and on many occasions he 
was compelled to preach outside the churches, on account of 
the immense crowds of people who came to hear him. He 
encouraged the people to lead pure and upright lives, and 
recommended to them in particular the adoration of the most 
Blessed Sacrament, and the devotion of the Way of the Cross. 

Besides engaging in the work of the missions, St. Leonard 
found time to write a great many works, made up mostly of 
sermons, letters, books on the spiritual life, and devotional 
works of various kinds for the benefit of priests and people. 
Viewed from the exterior, we can see that he devoted his 
entire time to working in the vineyard of the Lord. From 
the interior, we can see him as the true man of God. Severe 
with himself by fasting, discipline and prayer, he raised him- 
self, through the power of God's grace, to an eminent degree 
of sanctity. He died in Rome on November 26, 1751. He was 
beatified by Pius VI and canonized by Pius IX on the 29th 
of June, 1867. His feast is celebrated on November 26. 



ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, Confessor 

The great saint, whose feast is celebrated on May 15, was 
born at Rheims, France, on the 30th of April, 1651. His 
parents were very careful about his early training, and insisted 
that their son should receive a thorough education in which 
the moral side of it would command the utmost attention. 

Perceiving that his vocation was to serve God in the 
Church, the young man prepared himself accordingly, and 
was ordained to the holy priesthood on the 9th of April, 1678. 
His life as a priest of God was holy and exemplary in every 
particular duty that his vocation imposed upon him. 

His great work in this world was the establishment of 
the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for the 



6i8 



LIVES OF THE SAINTS 



purpose of giving a Christian education to the youth of the 
land, and uniting the members of the community under a 
religious rule, the observance of which would make them true 
followers of Christ. Like other religious communities estab- 
lished by saintly men for the greater honor and glory of God 
in the world, this particular one has been blessed by God 




in a special manner, so that in our time the Brothers of this 
community are thousands in number and the multitude of 
young men they have prepared for their life's work are an 
honor to their country, their Church, and their Creator. 

As the life of St. John Baptist de la Salle was about to 
close, he invoked the blessing of God on his community and 
said in regard to himself: "In all things I adore the will of 
God." He died on Good Friday morning, April 7, 1719, and 
was canonized by Pope Leo XIII, May 24, 1900. 



INDEX. 



Ad rent 

All Saints 

All Souls 

The Annunciation 

The Ascension 

The Assumption 

Ash Wednesday 

SS. Abraham and Mary 

SS. Adrian and Eubulus 

St. Aelred 

St. Agapetus 

St. Agatha 

St. Agnes .... 

St. Albinus 

St. Alexius 

St. Aloysius Gonzaga 

St. Alphonsus Liguori 

St. Ambrose 

St. Andrew, Apostle 

St. Andrew Avellino 

St. Anicetus 

St. Anne 

St. Anselm 

St. Antoninus 

St. Antony 

St. Antony of Padua 

St. Apollinaris, Apologist 

St. Apollinaris, Martyr 

St. Appolonia and the Martyrs of 

Alexandria 

St. Apollonius 

St. Athanasius 

St. Augustine 

St, Augustine of Hippo 

St. Avitus , 

B. 

Blood, The Most Precious 

St. Bademus 



PAGE 

5 

512 

5i3 
171 
22 
404 
7 

152 
134 

46 
410 
.87 

59 
128 
360 
3i9 
385 
558 
549 
523 
209 

375 
214 

247 
53 

306 
40 

37i 

94 
210 

233 
274 
425 
312 



St. Barachisius 

St. Barbara 

St. Barbatus 

St. Barnabas 

St. Bartholomew 

St. Basil the Great 

St. Basilissa 

St. Bathildes 

Ven. Bede 

St. Benedict 

St. Benedict of Anian 

St. Benezet 

St. Benjamin 

St. Bernard 

St. Bernardine of Siena 

St.. Bertha 

St. Bertille 

St. Bibiana 

St. Blase 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Annunci- 
ation of 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Assump- 
tion of 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Immacu- 
late Conception of , 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Nativity 

of 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Presenta- 
tion ol 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Purifica- 
tion of 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Seven 

Dolors of. ... 

Blessed Virgin Mary, The Sunday in 
the Octave of the Nativity of. . . 
Blessed Virgin Mary, The Visitation 

of 

Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy 

St. Bonaventure 

St. Boniface 



179 
554 
109 

303 
420 
308 
42 

73 
277 
164 

98 
205 
182 

413 

263 

339 
518 

55i 
84 

171 

404 

559 



538 
81 
11 

445 

336 
466 

355 
291 



619 



620 



INDEX. 



St. Bridgid 76 

St. Bridget of Sweden 484 

St. Bruno 481 

C. 

Candlemas-day 81 

Christmas 580 

The Circumcision of Our Lord 29 

Corpus Christi 27 

Cross, The Holy, Discovery of. 234 

Cross, The Holy, Exaltation of 454 

Crown of Thorns, The Holy 13 | 

St. Cajetan 393 

St. Callistus 491 

St. Camillus of Lellis 362 

St. Canutus 56 

St. Casimir 133 

St. Catherine of Alexandria 543 

St. Catherine of Genoa 455 

St. Catherine of Ricci 100 

St. Catherine of Siena . . . . ^ . , 229 

St. Catherine of Sweden 166 

St. Cecilia 539 

St. Celestine 191 

St, Celsus 377 

St. Charles Borromeo 516 

St. Christina 372 

St. Clare 400 

St. Claude 296 

St. Clement of Rome 541 

SS. Cletus and Marcellinus 222 

St. Clotilda 288 

St. Cloud „ . 442 

St. Colette 136 

St. Columba or Columkille 300 

SS. Cosmas and Damian 470 

St. Crescentia 309 

SS. Crispin and Crispinian 504 

St. Cunegundes 131 

St. Cyprian 456 

SS. Cyprian and Justina, Martyrs. . . 469 

St. Cyriacus and his Companions. . . 394 

St. Cyril 279 

St. Cyril of Alexandria 70 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem 158 

D. 

St. Damasus 562 

St. Damian . 470 

St. David . . . , , 127 



St. Delphinus 578 

St. Didacus 528 

St. Dionysia 255 

St. Dionysius and his Companions 485 

St. Dominic 388 

SS. Donatian and Rogatian 269 

St. Dorothy 89 

E. 

Easter Sunday 20 

Epiphany of Our Lord 38 

St. Edmund of Canterbury 532 

St. Edward the Confessor 490 

Eighteen Martyrs of Saragossa 208 

St. Eleutherius 441 

St. Eligius 550 

St. Elizabeth of Hungary 535 

St. Elizabeth of Portugal 345 

St. Elphege 212 

St. Emiliana ....... o . 578 

St. Encratis 208 

St. Ephrem 347 

St. Epiphanius 250 

St. Etheldreda 322 

St. Eubulus 134 

St. Eucherius 111 

St. Eugenius 354 

St. Eulalia 561 

St. Eulogius 144 

St. Eulogius, Patriarch 452 

St. Euphrasia 147 

St. Eusebius 569 

St. Eusebius, Bishop 403 

St. Eustachius and his Companions. . 461 

St. Evaristus 505 

F. 

The Five Wounds of Our Lord 9 

The Forty Hours' Devotion 6 

SS. Faustinus and Jovita 102 

St. Felicianus 299 

St. Felicitas and her Seven Sons. . . . 348 

St. Felix I 281 

St. Felix of Valois 537 

St. Fiaker 430 

St. Fidelis 219 

St. Finbarr 468 

St. Finian 564 

St. Firmin 468 

St. Flavin 106 



INDEX. 



621 



Forty Martyrs of Sebaste 142 

St. Frances of Rome 141 

St. Francis of Assisi 479 

St. Francis Borgia 486 

St. Francis Caracciolo 289 

St. Francis of Paula 185 

St. Francis of Sales 71 

St. Francis Xavier 553 

St. Frumentius 506 

St. Fulgentius 30 

G. 

Guardian Angels 476 

Good Friday 17 

St. Gal, Bishop 334 

St. Gall, Abbot 494 

St. Gatian 571 

St. Genevieve 33 

St. George 218 

St. Gerard 478 

St. Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre. .. 380 

St. Germanus, Bishop of Paris 278 

St. Gertrude 531 

St. Giles 434 

St. Goar 341 

St. Gontran 177 

St. Gregory the Great 146 

St. Gregory, Bishop of Langres .... 35 

St. Gregory Nazianzen 245 

St. Gregory VII . 271 

St. Gregory Thaumaturgus 533 

St. Guy of Anderlacht 451 

H. 

Holy Cross, The Discovery of the. . 234 
Holy Cross, The Exaltation of the. . 454 

Holy Innocents 583 

Holy Relics, Feast of the 521 

Holy Saturday 19 

St. Hedwige 495 

St. Hegesippus 193 

St. Helena 409 

St. Heliodorus 337 

St. Henry .... 357 

B. Herman Joseph of Steinfeld 194 

St. Hermenegild 203 

St. Hilarion ,. 501 

St. Hilary of Poitiers 49 

St, Honoratus 52 

St. Hospitius 264 



St. Hubert 515 

St. Hugh l83 

St. Hugh of Cluni 228 

St. Hyacinth 406 

I. 

The Immaculate Conception 559 

St. Ignatius, Martyr 80 

St. Ignatius of Loyola 381 

St. Irenseus 329 

St. Ischyrion 576 

St. Isidore 188 



J- 

St. James, Apostle „ 373 

St. James Bishop 350 

St. James of La Marca of Ancona. .. 546 
St. Jane Frances de Chantal 415 



St. Jane of Valois 85 

St. Januarius 460 

The Japanese Martyrs 88 

St. Jerome. 474 

St. Jerome Emiliani 366 

St. John the Almoner 197 

St. John the Baptist 323 

St. John the Baptist, Beheading of . . 427 

B. John of Britto 104 

St. John Cantius 499 

St. John Chrysostom 69 

St. John Climacus 180 

St. John of the Cross 542 

St. John of Egypt 176 

St. John, Evangelist 582 

St. John before the Latin Gate . 240 

St. John Francis Regis 311 

St. John of God 139 

St. John Gualbert 352 

St. John of Matha 92 

St. John Nepomucen 256 

St. John the Silent 25 t 

St. John of St. Facundus 305 

SS. John and Paul, Martyrs. 327 

SS. Jonas, Barachisius, and their 

Companions. 179 

St. Joseph 160 

St. Joseph Calasanctius 424 

St. Jude 507 

St. Julia 268 

St. Juliana Falconieri 315 

J SS. Julian and Basilissa - .-. 42 



622 



INDEX. 



PAGK 

St. Julius 202 

St. Justin 283 

St. Justina 469 

L. 

St. Ladislas 328 

St. Lambert 457 

St. Laurence, Martyr 397 

St. Laurence Giustiniani 440 

St. Laurence O'Tool 529 

St. Leander 123 

St. Leo the Great 200 

St. Leocadia 560 

St. Leonard 519 

St. Leonides ■ 216 

St. Liberatus and others 407 

St. Louis, Bishop 411 

St. Louis, King 421 

St. Louis Bertrand 480 

St. Lucian 39 

St. Lucy 565 

St. Ludger 174 

St. Luke 49° 

St. Lupicinus 124 

M. 

Maundy Thursday 16 

Most Holy Crown of Thorns 13 

Most Precious Blood 10 

Dedication of St. Mary ad Nives 390 

St. Macarius of Alexandria 31 

St. Magloire 503 

St. Malachi 5 14 

St. Mammertus ... 248 

St. Marcella 74 

St. Marcellinus 213 

St. Marcellinus, Pope 222 

St. Marcellus 510 

SS. Marcus and Marcellianus 34 

St. Margaret, Martyr 366 

bt, Margaret Mary Alacoque 495 

St. Margaret of Scotland 302 

St. Mark, Evangelist 221 

St. Mark, Pope 483 

St. Martha 37 8 

St. Martin, Pope 525 

St. Martin of Tours 524 

The Martyrs of Alexandria 94 

The Martyrs of Japan 88 

The Martyrs of Lyons.,. 286 | 



PAGS 

The Martyrs of Sebaste 142 

The Martyrs of Saragossa 208 

St. Mary of Egypt 196 

St. Mary Magdalen 369 

St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi 275 

St. Matthew. 463 

St. Matthias 118 

St. Maud 149 

St. Maximus 545 

St. Medard 297 

St. Mello 501 

St. Mesmin. . . , 567 

St. Michael 473 

St. Michael, The Apparition of 243 

St. Modestus 309 

St. Monica „ 237 

N. 

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. 444 

St. Narcissus 508 

St. Nazarius and Celsus 377 

St. Nemesion 572 

St. Nicasius and his Companions 566 

St. Nicholas of Bari 556 

St. Nicholas of Tolentino 448 

St. Norbert 293 

0. 

St. Odo of Cluny. 534 

St. Olympias 570 

St. Omer , 446 

St. Onesimus 105 

St. Optatus and Companions 208 

St. Oswald 126 

P. 

Palm Sunday 14 

The Purification 81 

The Presentation of the Blessed Vir- 
gin 538 

St. Pachomius 253 

St. Palladius 342 

St. Pamphilus 284 

St. Pantaenus , 343 

St. Pantaleon 376 

St. Paphnutius 449 

St. Paschal Babylon . ... 258 

St. Paternus 206 

St. Patrick 153 

St. Paul 332 

St. Paul, The Conversion of. 6$ 



INDEX. 



623 



PAGE 

St. Paul of the Cross. , 225 

St. Paul, the Hermit 50 

St. Paul, Martyr 327 

St. Paulinus of Nola v 320 

St. Perpetuus 195 

St. Peter, Apostle 331 

St. Peter's Chains 383 

St. Peter's Chair at Antioch 114 

St. Peter's Chair at Rome 54 

St. Peter of Alcantara 498 

St. Peter of Alexandria 544 

St Peter Celestine 261 

St. Peter Claver 447 

St. Peter Damian 115 

B. Peter Favre 395 

St. Peter of Luxemburg 340 

St. Peter, Martyr 227 

SS. Peter and Dionysia 255 

St. Petronilla 282 

St. Philip Benizi 418 

St. Philip Neri 272 

SS. Philip and James 231 

. St. Philogonius 573 

St. Pius V 239 

St. Placid , 480 

St. Polycarp 67 

St. Porphyry 121 

St. Pothinus and other Martyrs of 

Lyons 286 

SS. Primus and Felicianus. 299 

St. Prosper of Aquitaine 325 

Q. 

Quinquagesima Sunday 6 

St. Quintin 511 

R. 

Relics, Feast of the Holy 521 

St. Radegundes 401 

St. Raymund Nonnatus 432 

St. Raymund of Pennafort 62 

St. Remigius 475 

St. Richard of Chichester 187 

St Robert 294 

St. Rogation 269 

St. Romanus 396 

SS. Romanus and Lupicinus 124 

St. Romuald 91 

St. Rose of Lima 429 

St. Rosalia . - 436 



s. 

PAGE 

The Seven Dolors of the Blessed Vir- 



gin 11 

St. Sabas 555 

St. Sabinus and his Companions .... 586 

St. Saturninus 548 

St. Scholastica 95 

St. Sebastian 57 

St. Seraphia 437 

St. Serenus 116 

St. Severianus 112 

St. Severinus 97 

St. Servulus 557 

St. Silverius 317 

St. Simeon 107 

St. Simeon Stylites 36 

St. Simon, Infant Martyr 170 

St. Simon Stock 359 

SS. Simon and Jude 507 

St. Simplicius. 129 

St. Soter 216 

St. Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr. . . . 242 

St. Stanislas Kostka 527 

St. Stephen, First Martyr 581 

St. Stephen, Finding of the Relics of 387 

St. Stephen, King 435 

St. Stephen. Pope 384 

St. Susanna 400 

St. Sylvester 587 

St. Symphorian 416 

T 

The Transfiguration. 391 

Trinity Sunday 25 

St. Tarachus and his Companions. . . 488 

St. Tarasius 119 

St. Teresa 493 

The Theban Legion 464 

St. Thecla 465 

St. Theodore Tyro. . . 522 

St. Theodoret .* 502 

St. Theodosius 44 

St. Thomas, Apostle 575 

St. Thomas Aquinas 137 

St. Thomas of Canterbury 585 

St. Thomas of Villanova 459 

SS. Thrasilla and Emiliana 578 

SS. Tiburtius and Susanna. ........ 399 

St. Timothy 64 

at. Titus , 34 



624 



INDEX. 



U. 

PAGE 

St. Ursula 500 

V. 

The Visitation 336 

St. Valentine 101 

St. Valery 564 

St. Venantius 260 

St. Veronica 47 

St. Victor 367 

St. Victorian and others 167 

St. Vincent 60 

St. Vincent Ferrer 190 

St. Vincent of Paul 364 

St. Vitalis 226 

SS. Vitus, Crescentia, and Modestus 309 



w 

PAG 

Whit-Sunday 2 

St. Wenceslas 47 

St. Wilfrid 48 

St. William 4 

St. William of Nonte-Vergine 32 

St. Willibrord 52 

St. Wulfran 16 

y. 

St. Yvo 26 

Z. 

St. Zachary , 15 

St. Zephyrinus . „ . 42 

St. Zita 22 



APPENDIX 



St: Benedict Joseph Labre 597 

St. Clare of Montefalco 589 

St. Francis Solano 609 

St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother 604 

St. Joan of Arc 612 

St. John Baptist de la Salle 618 

St. John Baptist de Rossi 601 



St. John Berchmans 61 

St. Lawrence of Brindisi 5< 

St. Leonard of Port Maurice 6| 

St. Philip of Jesus 6( 

St. Rita of Cascia 6i 

St. Roch 6i 

St. Turribius 6t 



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